A story should, to please, at least seem true,
Be apropos, well told, concise, and new:
And whenso'er it deviates from these rules,
The wise will sleep, and leave applause to fools.


Literary life and select works of Benjamin Stillingfleet [ed. by W. Coxe]. (ed. 1811)

Benjamin Stillingfleet Quotes

A story should, to please, at least seem true, Be apropos, well told, concise, and new: And whenso'er it deviates from these rules, The wise will...

A story should, to please, at least seem true, Be apropos, well told, concise, and new: And whenso'er it deviates from these rules, The wise will...

A story should, to please, at least seem true, Be apropos, well told, concise, and new: And whenso'er it deviates from these rules, The wise will...

A story should, to please, at least seem true, Be apropos, well told, concise, and new: And whenso'er it deviates from these rules, The wise will...