Robert Bulwer-Lytton

1831–1891 · Poet ‘Owen Meredith’ · Viceroy of India

Robert Bulwer-Lytton published his verse under the pen name Owen Meredith while pursuing a diplomatic career that made him Viceroy of India (1876–1880) and later ambassador to France. He was the son of the far more famous novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton — a proximity that has repeatedly caused this couplet to be reassigned to his father. Critics judged him prolific but uneven; this line from “Last Words” is among his most enduring.

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“Talent does what it can; genius does what it must”

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