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The question isn't about what Schubert would have done if he had lived as long as Beethoven. The question is about what Schubert would have done if he had lived as long as Mozart.

— Clive James Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time (2007)

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More quotes by Clive James

The sure sign of a weak man who ascends to glory is that he can't tolerate having strong men around him.

North Face of Soho (2006)

Television is simultaneously blamed, often by the same people, for worsening the world and for being powerless to change it.

Glued to the Box (1983)

Beyond a certain point - and that point is reached early - precision is what expressiveness depends on.

One of [Mann's] many reasons for hating the Third Reich was that it forced him to be a better man than he really was.

Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time (2007)

If it feels like a mistake before you go in, don't go in.

North Face of Soho (2006)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Clive James (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.