One must be ruthless with one's own writing or someone else will be.
Interpretation
Be strict and honest with your own writing to avoid criticism from others.
This quote suggests that writers should critically evaluate their own work to improve it; failing to do so might lead to others judging or criticizing their writing harshly. In essence, it emphasizes the importance of self-discipline in the creative process, implying that artists or writers have a responsibility to refine their craft proactively.
In practice
In a writing workshop, to stress the importance of self-editing.
There is no such thing as Freedom (though it is the most important condition of human life, after Humility, -which does not exist either). There is only Slavery (walls around one) and absence-of-Slavery (ability to walk in any direction, or to remain still).
We must travel in the direction of our fear.
Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.
The artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him. At that point, he's in business.
Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so. After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns, we ourselves flash and yearn, and moreover my mother told me as a boy (repeatedly) 'Ever to confess you're bored means you have no inner Resources.' I conclude now I have no inner resources, because I am heavy bored.
I do strongly feel that among the greatest pieces of luck for high achievement is ordeal. Certain great artists can make out without it, Titian and others, but mostly you need ordeal. My idea is this: the artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him. At that point, he's in business: Beethoven's deafness, Goya's deafness, Milton's blindness, that kind of thing.
We can easily become as much slaves to precaution as we can to fear. Although we can never rivet our fortune so tight as to make it impregnable, we may by our excessive prudence squeeze out of the life that we are guarding so anxiously all the adventurous quality that makes it worth living.
Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
More knowledge may be gained of a man's real character by a short conversation with one of his servants than from a formal and studied narrative, begun with his pedigree and ended with his funeral.
Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work.
There is greatness in the fear of God, contentment in faith of God, and honour in humility.
Strong delusions travel like _x000D_ cold germs on a sneeze.
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