The Public is a thing I cannot help looking upon as an enemy, and which I cannot address without feelings of hostility. – John Keats
Praise or blame has but a momentary effect on the man whose love of beauty in the abstract makes him a severe critic on his own works. – John Keats
Though a quarrel in the streets is a thing to be hated, the energies displayed in it are fine; the commonest man shows a grace in his quarrel. – John Keats
The urgent consideration of the public safety may undoubtedly authorize the violation of every positive law. How far that or any other consideration may operate to dissolve the natural obligations of humanity and justice, is a doctrine of which I still desire to remain ignorant. – Edward Gibbon