Isaac D'Israeli

The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotation.

It is a wretched taste to be gratified with mediocrity when the excellent lies before us.

The defects of great men are the consolation of the dunces.

Her great merit is finding out mine - there is nothing so amiable as discernment.

It's terribly important that you can criticise people's ideas without criticising them, and if they burst into tears, it means that you tend to hold back from getting at the absolute truth.

Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book.