“I would not be like those Authors, who forgive themselves some particular lines for the sake of a whole Poem, and vice versa a whole Poem for the sake of some particular lines. I believe no one qualification is so likely to make a good writer, as the power of rejecting his own thoughts.”

Preface
The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope (1717)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 14, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I would not be like those Authors, who forgive themselves some particular lines for the sake of a whole Poem, and vice …" by Alexander Pope?
Alexander Pope photo
Alexander Pope 158
eighteenth century English poet 1688–1744

Related quotes

Alexander Pope photo

“I believe no one qualification is so likely to make a good writer, as the power of rejecting his own thoughts.”

Alexander Pope (1688–1744) eighteenth century English poet

Preface.
The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope (1717)
Context: I would not be like those Authors, who forgive themselves some particular lines for the sake of a whole Poem, and vice versa a whole Poem for the sake of some particular lines. I believe no one qualification is so likely to make a good writer, as the power of rejecting his own thoughts.

“The poet writes his poem for its own sake, for the sake of that order of things in which the poem takes the place that has awaited it.”

Randall Jarrell (1914–1965) poet, critic, novelist, essayist

“The Obscurity of the Poet”, p. 24
Poetry and the Age (1953)
Context: People always ask: For whom does the poet write? He needs only to answer, For whom do you do good? Are you kind to your daughter because in the end someone will pay you for being?... The poet writes his poem for its own sake, for the sake of that order of things in which the poem takes the place that has awaited it.

Thomas Carlyle photo

“He who would write heroic poems should make his whole life a heroic poem.”

Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher

Life of Schiller.
1820s, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays (1827–1855)

Eugene McCarthy photo
Elizabeth Bishop photo
Jean Paul Sartre photo
Edgar Allan Poe photo
Felix Frankfurter photo

“Lines should not be drawn simply for the sake of drawing lines”

Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965) American judge

Dissenting in Pearce v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 315 U.S. 543, 558 (1942).
Judicial opinions
Context: The line must follow some direction of policy, whether rooted in logic or experience. Lines should not be drawn simply for the sake of drawing lines.

Related topics