Little Lessons from the Masters II
Flaubert and de Maupassant:
"You must-do you hear me, young man?-you must work harder," Flaubert told him in 1878. "Too many whores! Too much boating! Too much exercise! Yes, that's right: a civilized man does not require as much locomotion as doctors would have us believe." For Flaubert, keeping fit was a frivolous waste of time and energy: What you lack are principles. Say what you like, you can't do without principles. The only question is: which ones? For an artist, there is only one: sacrifice everything to art. Life should be treated as a means to an end, and nothing more.
Of all the ways of acquiring books, writing them oneself is regarded as the most praiseworthy method.
-- Walter Benjamin
Nestor, [a poet] from Greek Asia Minor, was a man who enjoyed a wide following in the early third century AD... He rewrote the entire Iliad, avoiding in each "book" the particular letter by which it was numbered. The statue of Nestor has been found, but unfortunately lacks its head.
-- Robin Lane Fox
"You must-do you hear me, young man?-you must work harder," Flaubert told him in 1878. "Too many whores! Too much boating! Too much exercise! Yes, that's right: a civilized man does not require as much locomotion as doctors would have us believe." For Flaubert, keeping fit was a frivolous waste of time and energy: What you lack are principles. Say what you like, you can't do without principles. The only question is: which ones? For an artist, there is only one: sacrifice everything to art. Life should be treated as a means to an end, and nothing more.
Of all the ways of acquiring books, writing them oneself is regarded as the most praiseworthy method.
-- Walter Benjamin
Nestor, [a poet] from Greek Asia Minor, was a man who enjoyed a wide following in the early third century AD... He rewrote the entire Iliad, avoiding in each "book" the particular letter by which it was numbered. The statue of Nestor has been found, but unfortunately lacks its head.
-- Robin Lane Fox