“I have failed at many things, but I have never been afraid.”
Nadine Gordimer (1923–2014) South african Nobel-winning writer
“I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.”
Letter to James Hessey (October 9, 1818)
Letters (1817–1820)
Context: I have written independently without Judgment. I may write independently, and with Judgment, hereafter. The Genius of Poetry must work out its own salvation in a man: It cannot be matured by law and precept, but by sensation and watchfulness in itself — That which is creative must create itself — In Endymion, I leaped headlong into the sea, and thereby have become better acquainted with the Soundings, the quicksands, and the rocks, than if I had stayed upon the green shore, and piped a, silly pipe, and took tea and comfortable advice. I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.
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John Keats211
English Romantic poet 1795–1821Related quotes
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