The test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. If it never surprises it is flat. Flat characters ... in their purest form ... are constructed round a single idea or quality;… — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
I distrust Great Men. They produce a desert of uniformity around them and often a pool of blood too, and I always feel a little man's pleasure when they come a cropper. — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
Do not be proud of your inconsistency. It is a pity, it is a pity that we should be equipped like this. It is… — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
This element of surprise or mystery - the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called - is of great importance in a… — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
It is so difficult - at least, I find it difficult - to understand people who speak the truth. — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
The final test for a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, and of anything else… — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for It will probably be interesting, and it is sure… — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
A critic has no right to the narrowness which is the frequent prerogative of the creative artist. — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
Before the civil war, Pottibakia was a normal member of the Comity of Nations. She erected tariff walls, broke treaties, persecuted minorities, obstructed at… — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
Chess is a forcing house where the fruits of character can ripen more fully than in life — E. M. Forster Copy Share Image
