This is such a great quote I had to read it in some context and although I've only read a few pages around the quote it seems that he is talking about tragedy and specifically the idea of how one escapes from essentially being a nobody in the world.
"...the death of Cinna the poet is comic, whereas the deaths of Cesar, Brutus and Cassius are tragic." (Speaking of the works of Shakespeare). The idea is that our concept of tragedy is bound up with the consequence to society rather than the consequence to an individual. So if you die having accomplished nothing of note, we feel that we have wasted our time -- no tragedy has resulted from our death.
From that perspective, I think he's trying to say that instead of writing because you want to make a mark, you should try to avoid writing. That desire to do something notable will cause you to ultimately feel as though you have failed -- we can never overcome our own ambitions. But if you go to extreme lengths to avoid writing and fail to succeed, then your writing will never seem (to you) to be a waste of time. It will be of great importance (if only to you).
Search for "talented".
This is such a great quote I had to read it in some context and although I've only read a few pages around the quote it seems that he is talking about tragedy and specifically the idea of how one escapes from essentially being a nobody in the world.
"...the death of Cinna the poet is comic, whereas the deaths of Cesar, Brutus and Cassius are tragic." (Speaking of the works of Shakespeare). The idea is that our concept of tragedy is bound up with the consequence to society rather than the consequence to an individual. So if you die having accomplished nothing of note, we feel that we have wasted our time -- no tragedy has resulted from our death.
From that perspective, I think he's trying to say that instead of writing because you want to make a mark, you should try to avoid writing. That desire to do something notable will cause you to ultimately feel as though you have failed -- we can never overcome our own ambitions. But if you go to extreme lengths to avoid writing and fail to succeed, then your writing will never seem (to you) to be a waste of time. It will be of great importance (if only to you).