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] |