He ... got the better of himself, and that's the best kind of victory one can wish for. - Miguel de Cervantes

de todos ha de haber en el mundo

Plunge, scoundrel, rogue, monster — for such I take thee to be — plunge, I say, into the mare magnum of their histories; and if thou shalt find that any squire ever said or thought what thou hast said now, I will let thee nail it on my forehead, and give me, over and above, four sound slaps in the face.

Men who are famous for their talent, great poets, eminent historians, are always, or almost always, envied by those whose particular pleasure and entertainment is judging other people’s writings without ever having brought anything of their own into the light of day.