“I have done almost enough of this work; too much, some of my friends will say, perhaps. But it has been as much from good nature as anything else.”

Acknowledging that his prolific occasional verse was partly the result of kindness to others · Letter to James Russell Lowell, August 3, 1865

• Kindness
• Poetry
• Writing

“Most critics would instantly condemn a copy of verses to the waste-basket which contained such errors as these.”

Emphasising the importance of technical competence in poetry · Letter to Mrs E. S. Sinclair, September 16, 1882

• Criticism
• Poetry
• Precision

“Dobbin must be harnessed up just as much to carry one to visit his neighbors as to go on a long journey.”

Using the horse as a metaphor for the effort required even by apparently small obligations · Letter to M. A. De Wolfe Howe Jr, September 22, 1887

• Effort
• Humour
• Work