Human life is a sad show, undoubtedly: ugly, heavy and complex. Art has no other end, for people of feeling, than to conjure away the burden and bitterness.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. "The Landlord's Tale: Paul Revere's Ride." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Poems and Other Writings, edited by J. D. McClatchy. Library of America, 2000, st. 2.

Blake, William. "A Song of Liberty." The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake, edited by David V. Erdman. University of California Press, 2008.

Lincoln, Abraham. "To Albert G. Hodges, April 4, 1864." Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. Library of America, 1989.