“If the grief is only a half grief, conjured up by the imagination to play with like a toy, then, in my opinion, the bard had better hold his tongue.”

Rejecting manufactured grief as a basis for poetic utterance · Reminiscences and Opinions, 1886

• Death
• Poetry
• Truth

“When anyone, as I am now doing, approaches the age of seventy-four, he ought to be able to tell his juniors something worth listening to.”

A wry reflection on age, experience, and the obligation to pass something worthwhile to younger generations · Reminiscences and Opinions, Chapter I

• Age
• Experience
• Wisdom

“An average English intellect requires time to take in and digest what you say to it.”

Arguing that listeners need time to absorb spoken thought · Reminiscences and Opinions, 1886

• Art
• Truth