Quote#Kindness
In European thought in general, as contrasted with American, vigor,…
Quote byWallace Stevens · 1879–1955
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Journal entry (April 9, 1906); in Holly Stevens, ed., Letters of Wallace Stevens (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966), no. 112.
English (original)
In European thought in general, as contrasted with American, vigor, life and originality have a kind of easy, professional utterance. American — on the other hand, is expressed in an eager amateurish way. A European gives a sense of scope, of survey, of consideration. An American is strained, sensational. One is artistic gold; the other is bullion.
— Wallace Stevens
More from Wallace Stevens
To be young is all there is in the world.
Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.
One ought not to hoard culture. It should be adapted and infused into society as a leaven. Liberality of culture does not mean illiberality of its benefits.
A diary is more or less the work of a man of clay whose hands are clumsy and in whose eyes there is no light.
How full of trifles everything is! It is only one’s thoughts that fill a room with something more than furniture.
The day of the sun is like the day of a king. It is a promenade in the morning, a sitting on the throne at noon, a pageant in the evening.