“The ideal form for a poem, essay, or fiction, is that which the ideal writer would evolve spontaneously.”

—  Herbert Spencer

Pt. II, sec. 4, "The Ideal Writer"
The Philosophy of Style (1852)
Context: The ideal form for a poem, essay, or fiction, is that which the ideal writer would evolve spontaneously. One in whom the powers of expression fully responded to the state of feeling, would unconsciously use that variety in the mode of presenting his thoughts, which Art demands.

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Herbert Spencer 81
English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent … 1820–1903

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