The quality of a text is revealed by how it appears once all of its readers are removed.

 The quality of a text is revealed by how it appears once all of its readers are removed. A text written for a crowd is bound not only to that crowd but also enslaved to its era and time. On the other hand, writings cast into the void, addressed to no one, will endure their existence for eternity. If only a single human being remained in the world, and that person still produced volumes upon volumes of writing, that—indeed—would be noble.