If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied harder.

If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied harder.

Literature is the immortality of speech.

Literature is the immortality of speech.

There is first the literature of knowledge, and secondly, the
literature of power. The function of the first is--to read more

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"),

How is it that little children are so intelligent and men so stupid? It must be education that does it.

How is it that little children are so intelligent and men so stupid? It must be education that does it.

We cultivate literature on a little oat-meal.

We cultivate literature on a little oat-meal.

All that non-fiction can do is answer questions. It's fiction's business to ask them.

All that non-fiction can do is answer questions. It's fiction's business to ask them.

A novel is a mirror carried along a main road.

A novel is a mirror carried along a main road.

Poetry is the impish attempt to paint the color of the wind.

Poetry is the impish attempt to paint the color of the wind.

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.