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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Literature is a power to be possessed, not a body of objects to be studied.
Literature is a power to be possessed, not a body of objects to be studied.
Perish those who said our good things before we did.
Perish those who said our good things before we did.
Draw a crazy picture,Write a nutty poem,Sing a mumble-gumble song,Whistle through your comb.Do a loony-goony dance'Cross the kitchen floor,Put something read more
Draw a crazy picture,Write a nutty poem,Sing a mumble-gumble song,Whistle through your comb.Do a loony-goony dance'Cross the kitchen floor,Put something silly in the worldThat ain't been there before.
Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to read more
Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it.
The classics are only primitive literature. They belong to the same class as primitive machinery and primitive music and primitive read more
The classics are only primitive literature. They belong to the same class as primitive machinery and primitive music and primitive medicine.
Literature is an avenue to glory, ever open for those ingenious
men who are deprived of honours or of read more
Literature is an avenue to glory, ever open for those ingenious
men who are deprived of honours or of wealth.
Arrogance, pedantry, and dogmatism... the occupational diseases of those who spend their lives directing the intellects of the young.
Arrogance, pedantry, and dogmatism... the occupational diseases of those who spend their lives directing the intellects of the young.
The philosophy exam was a piece of cake -- which was a bit of a surprise, actually, because I was read more
The philosophy exam was a piece of cake -- which was a bit of a surprise, actually, because I was expecting some questions on a sheet of paper.
Our poetry in the eighteenth century was prose; our prose in the
seventeenth, poetry.
Our poetry in the eighteenth century was prose; our prose in the
seventeenth, poetry.
