Carmina proveniunt animo deducta sereno

[milo]

"Poetry is the spontaneous overflowing of
powerful emotions, reflected in tranquillity. And no
one can be said to have had a powerful emotion,
save that he had also thought long and deeply."

-Wordsworth

I believe they are both saying the same thing. Poetry is inspired by the "un-calm", the eventful, the emotionally charged but it is the careful crafting of words produced by a sober mind that channels these into poetry. Hence, poetry is produced (or fine spun, i suppose) from a calm mind.

I agree, absolutely. V difficult to produce anything requiring skill, in a state of semi-hysteria. V unlikely to produce much of interest if one's life has been like a lump of dough. I wish I could quote stuff like that at the drop of a hat!

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I would think the Ovid quote should reasonably impress.