(But then that is one of the severest test of an artist: he must always remain innocent and unconscious of his greatest virtues if he is to avoid depriving them of their uninhibitedness and purity.)...In spite of all this take deep pleasure in what is great about his work and must just make sure not to lose oneself to it and become an acolyte of this Dehmel-world...

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Letter to Franz Xaver Kappus (Viareggio near Pisa in Italy, 23 April 1903).

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