I Was Last In Rome

Though Philosophers Like To Define Poetry As Irrational Fancy, For Us It Is Practical, Humorous, Reasonable Way Of Being Ourselves.

I Was Last In Rome In Ad 540 When It Was Full Of Goths And Their Heavy Horses. It Has Changed A Great Deal Since Then.

The Poet's First Rule Must Be Never To Bore His Readers; And His Best Way Of Keeping This Rule Is Never To Bore Himself-which, Of Course, Means To Write Only When He Has Something Urgent To Say.

Never Use The Word 'audience.' The Very Idea Of A Public, Unless The Poet Is Writing For Money, Seems Wrong To Me. Poets Don't Have An 'audience'. They're Talking To A Single Person All The Time.

You Mean That People Who Continue Virtuous In An Old-fashioned Way Must Inevitably Suffer In Times Like These?