Literary idolatry endures and ceases just like all the others: it endures through ignorance, and ceases the moment the idolater realizes that the idolized does not fully conform to his individual convictions. That is why it easily turns into hatred in the most fanatical minds. The other path is that of maturity, which prescribes understanding that a great author will never entirely conform to our thinking; otherwise, he would have nothing to teach us. But how difficult it is, oh, how difficult it is for man to put aside his vanity and recognize in the other the different, how difficult it is to admit and accept the greatness that does not bow to the dictates of his convictions! In short, it’s the usual lesson: great authors are as they are, not as we would like them to be.