Quote of the Day | July 23, 2008: As One Limping Man to Another

A short post-script at the end of a letter from older brother Buddy to younger brother Zooey in J.D. Salinger's 1961 novel, Franny and Zooey:

As always, my passes at omniscience are absurd, but you, of all people, should be polite to the part of me that comes out merely clever. Years ago, in my earliest and pastiest days as a would-be writer, I once read a new story aloud to S. and Boo Boo. When I was finished, Boo Boo said flatly (but looking over at Seymour) that the story was "too clever." S. shook his head, beaming away at me, and said cleverness was my permanent affliction, my wooden leg, and that it was in the worst possible taste to draw the group's attention to it. As one limping man to another, old Zooey, let's be courteous and kind to each other.

Tags: J.D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey