Literature Quotes

Books change lives. Authors and readers reflect on the power of the written word.

12844 quotes

A
"Literature is the mirror of society."
Antonio Genovesi
J
"Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life."
Johann Tetens
J
"Literature opens windows to other worlds and souls."
Johann Tetens
J
"Literature reveals the truth about human nature."
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
A
"Literature preserves the collective wisdom and folly of mankind across time."
Antonio Genovesi
G
"Language is the image of the mind"
George Berkeley
G
"The connection between ideas and words is arbitrary"
George Berkeley
J
"Poetry is misrepresentation."
Jérémie Bentham
J
"The reader will observe that quotations occupy a considerable proportion of the essay."
John Maynard Keynes
J
"Literature endures because it speaks to eternal truths through particular stories."
Johann Tetens
J
"Literature is the conversation across generations that sustains human culture."
Johann Tetens
"Literature preserved the wisdom of ages when oral traditions failed."
Friedrich Hayek
G
"Literature captures the complexity of human perception."
George Berkeley
J
"Literature is the mirror in which society sees its own reflection."
Julien Offray de La Mettrie
J
"Literature preserves the accumulated wisdom of human experience and speaks to timeless truths."
Johann Tetens
J
"Literature speaks across centuries to those willing to listen carefully to human voices."
Johann Tetens
A
"Literature preserves the wisdom of ages in words that endure."
Antonio Genovesi
J
"Words ought to be a little wild, for they are the assault of thoughts on the unthinking."
John Maynard Keynes
G
"Poetry came before prose in human development"
Giovanni Vico
G
"Literature preserves human experience"
Giovanni Vico
G
"Literature preserves the thoughts and visions of ages past."
George Berkeley
J
"Literature mirrors the human condition and teaches us to recognize ourselves in others."
Johann Tetens
J
"Literature is the concentrated expression of human consciousness across time."
Johann Tetens
G
"The written word can never fully capture the spoken word's truth."
Giovanni Vico
G
"The poet speaks truth that the philosopher can only approach."
Giovanni Vico
J
"You can use any word you want to the top, as long as it is the right word."
Johann Goethe
J
"Literature reveals the depths of human nature."
Johann Herder
J
"Literature is the conversation of humanity across time."
Johann Herder
C
"Literature reflects the character of a people and their times."
Catharine Macaulay
C
"Great literature endures because it speaks to universal truths."
Catharine Macaulay