Preface to Og and Other Ogres, 1946

"Satire, though it may be both diverting and salutary, is a rather unlovely form of literature. And because it is unlovely, it seldom rises to poetry; it has (or should have) more bite than beauty; and things whose main function is to bite do not generally impress us with a sense of their beauty. Of all kinds created, sharks, mosquitos, and rattle-snakes, being essentially unkind is in their nature, are the least loved; most people would wish them away..."