“He went his own way, hard as it was, heedless of literary trends, seldom reading reviews of his own work, for example, and everything he wrote is in essence a celebration of a proud, stubborn individualistic spirit. He believed in gain from hardship, as is also implicit in his stories, what Shakespeare called “benefit of ill,†an expression he liked to quote. Human energies—love, art, perseverance, wisdom—are born of difficulty, he would say in his quiet manner, his eyes never straying from your own. McCullough, David. Brave Companions (p. 144). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. McCullough, David. Brave Companions (p. 144). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. ”
