Utopia

Some favor only the ancient, while most only care for their own work. One man is so gloomy that he will not permit any jokes, while another is so insipid that he cannot tolerate wit. Some are so snub-nosed He calls those without a nose snub-nosed. that they recoil from every joke as if it were water from a rabid dog. Others are so fickle that they approve of one thing while sitting and another while standing. These men sit in taverns, judge the talents of writers over their cups, and condemn them with great authority whenever they please, picking at everyone's writings like they are pulling at hair, while they themselves remain safe and, as the saying goes, exō belous out of range/out of reach Proverb.. They are so nimble and scraped clean on all sides that they do not have a single hair by which a good man can grab them. Furthermore, there are some so ungrateful that, even if they are immensely delighted by a work, they do not love the author any more for it. They are not unlike inhospitable hosts who, having been generously treated to a lavish banquet, finally depart home full, without having offered any thanks to the one who invited them. Go now, and at your own expense, prepare a feast for men of such delicate palates, such varied tastes, and such ungrateful and forgetful minds. But nevertheless, my dear Peter, do what I said regarding Hythlodaeus. Later, it will be possible to consult about this matter again.