"I was recently asked what it takes to……" — Joseph Epstein
"I was recently asked what it takes to become a writer. Three things, I answered: first, one must cultivate incompetence at almost every other form of profitable work. This must be accompanied, second, by a haughty contempt for all the forms of work that one has established one cannot do. To these two must be joined, third, the nuttiness to believe that other people can be made to care about your opinions and views and be charmed by the way you state them. Incompetence, contempt, lunacy—once you have these in place, you are set to go."
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Joseph Epstein
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46 Quotes by Joseph Epstein
Joseph Epstein has 46 quotes on this site.
A few more worth reading:
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Culture means, I think, that you have widened your experience enough through reading and through being a little bit thoughtful…
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All men and women are born, live, suffer and die; what distinguishes us one from another is our dreams, whether…
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A cat is the only domestic animal I know who toilet trains itself and does a damned impressive job of…
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One serious drawback about letters is that, in order to get them, one must send some out. When it comes…
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What all great teachers appear to have in common is love of their subject, an obvious satisfaction in rousing this…
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Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all.
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I myself think anti-Semitism is about envy.
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In recompense, envy may be the subtlest - perhaps I should say the most insidious - of the seven deadly…
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Envy is never general, but always very particular - at least envy of the kind one feels strongly.
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High standards generally -- about workmanship and creation of objects, about what is owed in friendship, about the quality of…
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I am afraid I am one of those people who continues to read in the hope of sometime discovering in…
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I should prefer to die laughing, and, on more than one occasion, thought I might.
See all 46 quotes by Joseph Epstein »
More Accompanied Quotes
This quote is filed under Accompanied Quotes,
one of 259 quotes in that category. Here are a few more:
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Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.
— Arnold Bennett
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All too often arrogance accompanies strength, and we must never assume that justice is on the side of the strong.…
— Theodore Bikel
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'Passione' is a selection of the music moments that have accompanied my youth; a collection of cherished memories, of moments,…
— Andrea Bocelli
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For centuries the death penalty, often accompanied by barbarous refinements, has been trying to hold crime in check; yet crime…
— Albert Camus
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Each concession we make is accompanied by an inner diminution of which we are not immediately conscious.
— Emile M. Cioran
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Reconciliation should be accompanied by justice, otherwise it will not last. While we all hope for peace it shouldn't be…
— Corazon Aquino
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Hardships can deprive mortals of the power to ACT. But at the same time, hardships can be the means of…
— Dallin H. Oaks
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Sincerity is the same in a corner alone, as it is before the face of the world. It knows not…
— John Bunyan
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Charity is an ugly trick. It is a virtue grown by the rich on the graves of the poor. Unless…
— Rebecca West
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When love is accompanied with deep intimacy, it raises us to the highest level of human experience. In this exalted…
— Leo Buscaglia
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EMOTION, n. A prostrating disease caused by a determination of the heart to the head. It is sometimes accompanied by…
— Ambrose Bierce
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Knowledge is always accompanied with accessories of emotion and purpose.
— Alfred North Whitehead
See all 259 Accompanied Quotes »