Muses

Famous quotes containing the word muses:

“The Muses inspire art and pretend not to notice when Mammon buys it.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)

“For, whom the Muses smile upon,
And touch with soft persuasion,
His words like a storm-wind can bring
Terror and beauty on their wing;
In his every syllable
Lurketh nature veritable.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

“If with light head erect I sing,
Though all the muses lend their force,
From my poor love of anything,
The verse is weak and shallow as its source.

But if with bended neck I grope,
Listening behind me for my wit,
With faith superior to hope,
More anxious to keep back than forward it,”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)