Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of a man -- the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

Biographies are but the clothes and buttons of a man -- the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.

After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations.

After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations.

In books, the proportion of exceptional to commonplace people is very high; in reality, very low.

In books, the proportion of exceptional to commonplace people is very high; in reality, very low.

Literature is mostly about sex and not much about having children; and life is the other way around.

Literature is mostly about sex and not much about having children; and life is the other way around.

Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.

Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.

This book fills a much-needed gap.

This book fills a much-needed gap.

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

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.