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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Beneath the rule of men entirely great, / The pen is mightier than the sword.
Beneath the rule of men entirely great, / The pen is mightier than the sword.
The poets did well to conjoin music and medicine, because the office of medicine is but to tune the curious read more
The poets did well to conjoin music and medicine, because the office of medicine is but to tune the curious harp of man's body.
Beauty is but a flower,Which wrinkles will devour;Brightness falls from the air;Queens have died young and fair;Dust hath closed Helen's read more
Beauty is but a flower,Which wrinkles will devour;Brightness falls from the air;Queens have died young and fair;Dust hath closed Helen's eye.I am sick, I must die;Lord have mercy on us. - Song in Time of Pestilence.
Housework is a breeze. Cooking is a pleasant diversion. Putting up a retaining wall is a lark. But teaching is read more
Housework is a breeze. Cooking is a pleasant diversion. Putting up a retaining wall is a lark. But teaching is like climbing a mountain.
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
People do not deserve to have good writings; they are so pleased with bad.
People do not deserve to have good writings; they are so pleased with bad.
Literature is news that stays news.
Literature is news that stays news.
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a read more
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.
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.
