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A man’s hope measures his civilization. The attainability of the hope measures, or may measure, the civilization of his nation and time.

Ezra Pound

Literature does not exist in a vacuum. Writers as such have a definite social function exactly proportional to their ability as writers. This is their main use.
EZRA POUND

Ability Existence Function Literature Main Writing
It is the business of the artist to make humanity aware of itself.
EZRA POUND

Artist Aware Business Humanity
The curse of me and my nation is that we always think things can be bettered by immediate action of some sort, any sort rather than no sort.
EZRA POUND

Action Curse Immediate Nation Sort Thinking
I did not enter into silence. Silence captured me.
EZRA POUND

Capture Myself Silence
Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding.
EZRA POUND

Education Insist Limit Reality
This is no book. Whoever touches this touches a man.
EZRA POUND

Book Man Touch
Science is unpoetic only to minds jaundiced with sentiment and romanticism, the great masters of the past boasted all they could of it and found it magical.
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Finding Greatness Magic Master Mindset Romanticism Science
I guess the definition of a lunatic is a man surrounded by them.
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Definition Mad Man Myself Surround
The concept of genius as akin to madness has been carefully cultivated by the inferiority complex of the public.
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Care Concept Genius Inferior Madness Public
Small talk comes from small bones.
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Body Bone Small Talk
It doesn’t matter which leg of your table you make first, so long as the table has four legs and will stand up solidly when you have finished it.
EZRA POUND

Finish Solid Stand Table Yourself
Come, let us pity those who are better off than we are. Come, my friend, and remember that the rich have butlers and no friends, And we have friends and no butlers.
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Better Friendship Pity Remember Rich
To break the pentameter, that was the first heaven.
EZRA POUND

Break Heaven Parameter
USURY is the cancer of the world, which only the surgeon’s knife of Fascism can cut out of the life of the nations.
EZRA POUND

Cancer Life World
One discards rhyme, not because one is incapable of rhyming neat, fleet, sweet, meet, treat, eat, feet but because there are certain emotions or energies which are nor represented by the over-familiar devices or patterns.
EZRA POUND

Device Emotion Energy Familiar Oneself Pattern Represent Rhyme
Music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance, poetry begins to atrophy when it gets too far from music.
EZRA POUND

Beginning Dance Far Music Poetry

A man’s hope measures his civilization. The attainability of the hope measures, or may measure, the civilization of his nation and time.

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A man’s hope measures his civilization. The attainability of the hope measures, or may measure, the civilization of his nation and time.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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