Quote
There is nothing more awful, insulting, and depressing than banality.
Attributed to:
Anton Chekhov
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By a curious confusion, many modern critics have passed from the proposition that a masterpiece may be unpopular to the other proposition that unless it is unpopular it cannot be a masterpiece. Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?. Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure. Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire. An honest man is not the worse because a dog barks at him. Every potter praises his pot, and all the more if it is cracked. Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic.