Arts & Sciences

Art Maxims

by William Watson 1858–1935

From The Poems of William Watson (1893)

Arts & Sciences

Often ornateness
Goes with greatness;
Oftener felicity
Comes of simplicity.

Talent that's cheapest
Affects singularity.
Thoughts that dive deepest
Rise radiant in clarity.

Life is rough:
Sing smoothly, O Bard.
Enough, enough,
To have found life hard.

No record Art keeps
Of her travail and throes.
There is toil on the steeps,--
On the summits, repose.

MLA

Watson, William. “Art Maxims.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/watson/24/.

Chicago

Watson, William. “Art Maxims.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/watson/24/.

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