No good poem, however confessional it may be, is just a self-expression. Who on earth would claim that the pearl expresses the oyster?

Quote by C Day Lewis

Topics: C Day Lewis Quotes

We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand.

We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand.

First, I do not sit down at my desk to put into verse something that...

First, I do not sit down at my desk to put into verse something that...

Summer has filled her veins with light and her heart is washed with noon.

Summer has filled her veins with light and her heart is washed with noon.

Now the peak of summer's past, the sky is overcast And the love we swore...

Now the peak of summer's past, the sky is overcast And the love we swore...

A good old man, sir. He will be talking. As they say, when the age...

A good old man, sir. He will be talking. As they say, when the age...

Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than...

Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than...

Old age is an incurable disease.

Old age is an incurable disease.

Nature is always behind the age.

Nature is always behind the age.

. . . Charles Darnay seemed to stand in a company of the dead. Ghosts...

. . . Charles Darnay seemed to stand in a company of the dead. Ghosts...

The value of old age depends upon the person who reaches it. To some men...

The value of old age depends upon the person who reaches it. To some men...

The delight of opening a new pursuit, or a new course of reading, imparts the...

The delight of opening a new pursuit, or a new course of reading, imparts the...

And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest...

And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest...

Learning acquired in youth arrests the evil of old age; and if you understand that...

Learning acquired in youth arrests the evil of old age; and if you understand that...

You think it horrible that lust and rage Should dance attendance upon my old age;...

You think it horrible that lust and rage Should dance attendance upon my old age;...

It's the safety valve of middle life, and the solace of age.

It's the safety valve of middle life, and the solace of age.

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any...

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any...

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot...

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot...

Good thoughts his only friends, His wealth a well-spent age, The earth his sober inn...

Good thoughts his only friends, His wealth a well-spent age, The earth his sober inn...

Every reform was once a private opinion, and when it shall be a private opinion...

Every reform was once a private opinion, and when it shall be a private opinion...

Youth, large, lusty, loving - Youth, full of grace, force, fascination. Do you know that...

Youth, large, lusty, loving - Youth, full of grace, force, fascination. Do you know that...

I have never known a more vulgar expression of betrayal and deceit.

I have never known a more vulgar expression of betrayal and deceit.

Never wear anything that panics the cat.

Never wear anything that panics the cat.