There is first the literature of knowledge, and secondly, the
literature of power. The function of the first is--to teach; the
function of the second is--to move, the first is a rudder, the
second an oar or a sail. The first speaks to the mere discursive
understanding; the second speaks ultimately, it may happen, to
the higher understanding or reason, but always through affections
of pleasure and sympathy.
- Thomas De Quincey ("The Opium Eater"),
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Universities incline wits to sophistry and affectation.
Universities incline wits to sophistry and affectation.
A poet in history is divine, but a poet in the next room is a joke.
A poet in history is divine, but a poet in the next room is a joke.
Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a losttradition.
Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a losttradition.
As I was going up the stairI met a man who wasn't thereHe wasn't there again todayI wish, I wish read more
As I was going up the stairI met a man who wasn't thereHe wasn't there again todayI wish, I wish he'd stay away. - The Psychoed.
The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself read more
The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple.
They castrate the books of other men in order that with the fat of their works they may lard their read more
They castrate the books of other men in order that with the fat of their works they may lard their own lean volumes.
Learning why one great book is just like every other great book is the key to understanding literature
Learning why one great book is just like every other great book is the key to understanding literature
When a man can observe himself suffering and is able, later, to describe what he's gone through, it means he read more
When a man can observe himself suffering and is able, later, to describe what he's gone through, it means he was born for literature.
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.
