Every poet is partly creator and partly the creature of circumstances. - George Gilfillan

Perhaps the life of every thinking man may be divided into three eras — the era of admiration
the era of action
the era of repose

The language of imagination is the native language of man. It is the language of his excited intellect, of his aroused passions, of his devotion, of all the higher moods and temperaments of his mind.

The language of poetry is the only speech which has in it the power of permanent impression