--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing so fretful, so despicable as a…" description: "\"Nothing so fretful, so despicable as a Scribbler, see what I am, and what a parcel of Scoundrels I have brought about my ears, and what language I have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lord-byron-356_authorship_nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-sc_597113.jpg" --- # Nothing so fretful, so despicable as a Scribbler, see what… ![“Nothing so fretful, so despicable as a Scribbler, see what I am, and what a parcel of Scoundrels I have brought about my ears, and what language I have been obliged to treat them with to deal with them in their own way; - all this comes of Authorship.” quote by Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lord-byron-356_authorship_nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-sc_597113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lord-byron-356_authorship_nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-sc_597113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lord-byron-356_authorship_nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-sc_597113.jpg) > “Nothing so fretful, so despicable as a Scribbler, see what I am, and what a parcel of Scoundrels I have brought about my ears, and what language I have been obliged to treat them with to deal with them in their own way; - all this comes of Authorship.” [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer laments the chaotic, contemptible nature of his own work and the troublesome readers it attracts, attributing the mess to the act of authorship itself. **In simple terms:** The author blames his messy writing on being a writer. Key Takeaway Accept that creating art inevitably invites criticism and complexity. Themes creativity frustration authorship literature self‑reflection Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - publishing - reader engagement Key Concepts authorial responsibility literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do writers have to their audience? - How does self‑critique shape artistic growth? A Different Perspective Authorship can generate both creative freedom and unintended chaos. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authorship/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Scoundrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrels/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“This Mister Rezanov was a dynamic fellow, hot tempered, a dedicated scribbler, a talker, with a head more inclined to making castles in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-matthews/this-mister-rezanov-was-a-dynamic-fellow-hot-tempered-a-dedicated/) Owen Matthews > [“But I found out then, and never have forgotten since, that we never read the dull explanatory surroundings of marvelously exciting things when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/but-i-found-out-then-and-never-have-forgotten-since-that-we-never/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I like to work as much as I can, but I only really have the hiatus to work on other projects. I've kept myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-nayyar/i-like-to-work-as-much-as-i-can-but-i-only-really-have-the-hiatus-to/) [Kunal Nayyar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-nayyar/) > [The inspired scribbler always has the gift for gossip in our common usage he or she can always inspire the commonplace with an uncommon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-drew/the-inspired-scribbler-always-has-the-gift-for-gossip-in-our-common/) [Elizabeth Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-drew/) > [“A good author is he who isn’t afraid to speak his mind; he who dictates the art of the verse. A scribbler who merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-samarrai/a-good-author-is-he-who-isn-t-afraid-to-speak-his-mind-he-who/) [Leila Samarrai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-samarrai/) > [“We never read the full explanatory surroundings of marvelously exciting things when we have no occasion to suppose that some irresponsible scribbler is trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-never-read-the-full-explanatory-surroundings-of-marvelously/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [...the curious hunter-up of rare quotations... the young and struggling scribbler...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-francis-henry-king/the-curious-hunter-up-of-rare-quotations-the-young-and-struggling/) William Francis Henry King > [The scribbler's life is never done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-n-wilson/the-scribbler-s-life-is-never-done/) [A. N. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-n-wilson/) > [“So I write mainly for the fun of it, the hell of it, the duty of it. I enjoy writing and will probly be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/so-i-write-mainly-for-the-fun-of-it-the-hell-of-it-the-duty-of-it-i/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Scribbler, n. A professional writer whose views are antagonistic to one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/scribbler-n-a-professional-writer-whose-views-are-antagonistic-to-one/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Lies hold civilization together. If people ever seriously begin telling each other what they really think, there'd be no peace. Good-bye to tact. Good-bye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/lies-hold-civilization-together-if-people-ever-seriously-begin/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [I'm not saying that all women are blameless - all women are not. There are women with despicable characters who are cruel and terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-m-not-saying-that-all-women-are-blameless-all-women-are-not-there/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I admire certain priests and nuns who go off on their own and do God's work on their own, who help in the ghettos,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/i-admire-certain-priests-and-nuns-who-go-off-on-their-own-and-do-god/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [I would of course like to think I've never done a truly despicable thing, but then again you don't always know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-andrews/i-would-of-course-like-to-think-i-ve-never-done-a-truly-despicable/) [Finn Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finn-andrews/) ## More by Lord Byron > [A thousand years may scare form a state. An hour may lay it in ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/a-thousand-years-may-scare-form-a-state-an-hour-may-lay-it-in-ruins/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/to-chase-the-glowing-hours-with-flying-feet/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Your thief looks Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 'Tis only at the bar, and in the dungeon, That wise men know your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/your-thief-looks-exactly-like-the-rest-or-rather-better-tis-only-at/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Age shakes Athena's tower, but spares gray Marathon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/age-shakes-athena-s-tower-but-spares-gray-marathon/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/she-walks-in-beauty-like-the-night-of-cloudless-climes-and-starry/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“We of the craft are all crazy. Some are affected by gaiety, others by melancholy, but all are more or less touched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/we-of-the-craft-are-all-crazy-some-are-affected-by-gaiety-others-by/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Men love in haste, but they detest at leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/men-love-in-haste-but-they-detest-at-leisure/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [And the commencement of atonement is the sense of its necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/and-the-commencement-of-atonement-is-the-sense-of-its-necessity/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Self-love for ever creeps out, like a snake, to sting anything which happens to stumble upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/self-love-for-ever-creeps-out-like-a-snake-to-sting-anything-which/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Lord of himself; that heritage of woe!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/lord-of-himself-that-heritage-of-woe/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Here's a sigh to those who love me,And a smile to those who hate;And, whatever sky's above me,Here's a heart for every fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/here-s-a-sigh-to-those-who-love-me-and-a-smile-to-those-who-hate-and/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [For most men (till by losing rendered sager), Will back their own opinions by a wager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/for-most-men-till-by-losing-rendered-sager-will-back-their-own/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I should like to know who has been carried off, except poor dear me - I have been more ravished myself than anybody since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-should-like-to-know-who-has-been-carried-off-except-poor-dear-me-i/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) [Explore all 647 Lord Byron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## More Authorship quotes > [To write well is to think well, to feel well, and to render well; it is to possess at once intellect, soul, and taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/to-write-well-is-to-think-well-to-feel-well-and-to-render-well-it-is/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/a-man-starts-upon-a-sudden-takes-pen-ink-and-paper-and-without-ever/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The writer, like a priest, must be exempted from secular labor. His work needs a frolic health; he must be at the top of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-writer-like-a-priest-must-be-exempted-from-secular-labor-his-work/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“If there's a will, there's a way! I feel larger than LIFE--and look up to the stars who shine down on me and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-scrima-black/if-there-s-a-will-there-s-a-way-i-feel-larger-than-life-and-look-up/) Donna Scrima-Black > [“Every article and review and book that I have ever published has constituted an appeal to the person or persons to whom I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/every-article-and-review-and-book-that-i-have-ever-published-has/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ Ye who write, choose a subject suited to your abilities. \[Lat., Sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, aequam Viribus.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/ye-who-write-choose-a-subject-suited-to-your-abilities-lat-sumite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Authorship, according to the spirit in which it is pursued, is an infancy, a pastime, a labor, a handicraft, an art, a science, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/authorship-according-to-the-spirit-in-which-it-is-pursued-is-an/) [August Wilhelm Von Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilhelm-von-schlegel/) > [Authorship has never been with me a matter of choice. I have not done it for amusement, or for money, or for fame, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/authorship-has-never-been-with-me-a-matter-of-choice-i-have-not-done/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [So there's a lot of people tied into believing that the traditional response to the authorship question. In terms of actors, some people get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rylance/so-there-s-a-lot-of-people-tied-into-believing-that-the-traditional/) [Mark Rylance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rylance/) > [Our favorites are few; since only what rises from the heart reaches it, being caught and carried on the tongues of men wheresoever love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/our-favorites-are-few-since-only-what-rises-from-the-heart-reaches-it/) [Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/) > [Subtract from many modern poets all that may be found in Shakespeare, and trash will remain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/subtract-from-many-modern-poets-all-that-may-be-found-in-shakespeare/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [ All these teachers and \[screenwriting\] books mean you see movies that have been worked over by more committees wielding more rules, that all originality… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schrader/all-these-teachers-and-screenwriting-books-mean-you-see-movies-that/) [Paul Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-schrader/) > [That author, however, who has thought more than he has read, read more than he has written, and written more than he has published,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/that-author-however-who-has-thought-more-than-he-has-read-read-more/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To expect an author to talk as he writes is ridiculous; or even if he did you would find fault with him as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/to-expect-an-author-to-talk-as-he-writes-is-ridiculous-or-even-if-he/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“Try to be someone upon whom nothing is lost!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/try-to-be-someone-upon-whom-nothing-is-lost/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Browse all 190 Authorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authorship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing so fretful, so despicable as a Scribbler, see what I am, and what a parcel of Scoundrels I have brought about my ears, and what language I have been obliged to treat them with to deal with them in their own way; - all this comes of Authorship.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lord Byron" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-scribbler-see-what-i-am-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Authorship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-scribbler-see-what-i-am-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lord-byron-356_authorship_nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-sc_597113.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lord-byron-356_authorship_nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-sc_597113.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lord-byron-356_authorship_nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-sc_597113.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing so fretful, so despicable as a Scribbler, see what I am, and what a parcel of Scoundrels I have…” — Lord Byron", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lord Byron", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing so fretful, so despicable as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-scribbler-see-what-i-am-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/nothing-so-fretful-so-despicable-as-a-scribbler-see-what-i-am-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```