it is not possible for me to express all that i feel of appreciation

for what has been said and given to me.

i accept, for myself, with the conviction of having received

far beyond what i have been able to give in my books.

i can only hope that the many books which i have yet to write

will be in some measure a worthier acknowledgment than i can make tonight.

and, indeed, i can accept only in the same spirit

in which i think this gift was originally given

—that it is a prize not so much for what has been done, as for the future.

whatever i write in the future must, i think,

be always benefited and strengthened when i remember this day.

i accept,too, for my country,the united states of america.

we are a people still young and we know that we have not yet come to the fullest of our powers.

this award, given to an american, strengthens not only one,

but the whole body of american writers,