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John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.

2416 Samuel Butler 1612-1680 John Bartlett

 
NUMBER:2416
AUTHOR:Samuel Butler (1612–1680)
QUOTATION:And poets by their sufferings grow,— 1
As if there were no more to do,
To make a poet excellent,
But only want and discontent.
ATTRIBUTION:Fragments.
 
Note 1.
Most wretched men
Are cradled into poetry by wrong;
They learn in suffering what they teach in song.
Percy Bysshe Shelley: Julian and Maddalo. [back]