"A mediocre mind thinks it writes divinely; a good mind thinks it writes reasonably"
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La Bruyere contrasts two kinds of self-judgment: the conceit that mistakes verbosity or grand feeling for genius, and the sober evaluation that aims for clarity and measure. The mediocre mind indulges in fantasies of inspiration, calling its own prose divine as a way to shield it from scrutiny. The good mind distrusts such ecstasies. It looks for sufficiency rather than sublimity, asking whether a sentence holds together, whether an argument is coherent, whether the reader can follow without strain. That modesty is not timidity; it is a higher standard. By demanding reasonableness, the writer submits to criteria outside the self, which is the beginning of real mastery.
The formulation belongs to the world of French classicism, where reason, proportion, and lucidity were moral as well as aesthetic virtues. Writing amid the courtly culture of Louis XIV and the salons, La Bruyere mocked pretension and affected brilliance in Les Caracteres, his series of portraits and maxims modeled on Theophrastus. He distrusted the cult of esprit that prized dazzling turns over solid thought, and he sided with the discipline advocated by contemporaries like Boileau: what is well conceived is clearly stated. The opposition between writing divinely and writing reasonably thus carries the weight of a larger cultural debate between inflated rhetoric and classical restraint.
There is also a psychological insight recognizable today. Overconfidence flourishes where skill is thin, because the writer cannot perceive the flaws that others see. The stronger the intellect, the sharper the sense of limitation, the more willing the writer is to revise and to accept that adequacy is an achievement. Reasonably, in this light, means anchored in arguments that can be defended and in language that can be understood. The aphorism serves as a warning against vanity and a defense of craft: true excellence looks ordinary to its owner because it is the product of method, not rapture.
The formulation belongs to the world of French classicism, where reason, proportion, and lucidity were moral as well as aesthetic virtues. Writing amid the courtly culture of Louis XIV and the salons, La Bruyere mocked pretension and affected brilliance in Les Caracteres, his series of portraits and maxims modeled on Theophrastus. He distrusted the cult of esprit that prized dazzling turns over solid thought, and he sided with the discipline advocated by contemporaries like Boileau: what is well conceived is clearly stated. The opposition between writing divinely and writing reasonably thus carries the weight of a larger cultural debate between inflated rhetoric and classical restraint.
There is also a psychological insight recognizable today. Overconfidence flourishes where skill is thin, because the writer cannot perceive the flaws that others see. The stronger the intellect, the sharper the sense of limitation, the more willing the writer is to revise and to accept that adequacy is an achievement. Reasonably, in this light, means anchored in arguments that can be defended and in language that can be understood. The aphorism serves as a warning against vanity and a defense of craft: true excellence looks ordinary to its owner because it is the product of method, not rapture.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
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