Literature Quotes

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

12844 quotes

"Those who tell the stories rule the world."
Diogenes Laërtius
S
"The study of literature reveals the human condition."
Strabo
S
"In literature, we find the voice of all humanity."
Strabo
P
"Literature is the voice of civilization."
Petronius
P
"Literature connects humanity."
Petronius
"Literature is the conversation of the dead speaking to the living."
Diogenes Laërtius
D
"Fables are not lies; they are the truth in disguise."
Desiderius Erasmus
P
"A room without books is like a body without a soul."
Plutarch
P
"Literature that endures speaks to the eternal truths within human nature."
Porphyry
P
"Literature is the conversation between centuries."
Petronius
P
"Literature teaches us to see through the eyes of others."
Petronius
A
"Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life."
Apuleius
"Literature preserves not what people did, but what they thought about what they did."
Diogenes Laërtius
"Literature is the conversation between the living and the dead."
Diogenes Laërtius
A
"Literature preserves the echo of human hearts across the centuries."
Apuleius
A
"Books are the immortal voices of the departed speaking to the living."
Apuleius
P
"Words are the wings upon which we fly. Without them we are earthbound forever."
Petronius
P
"A good story reveals the human condition more truly than a thousand facts."
Petronius
P
"Literature is the most intimate conversation between two souls."
Petronius
P
"Literature is the crystallization of human experience into words that echo across ages."
Porphyry
P
"Literature gives permanent form to the fleeting experiences of human consciousness."
Porphyry
S
"The poet and the geographer serve the same master: truth."
Strabo
"Literature is the mirror of the human soul."
Diogenes Laërtius
J
"The written word is immortal."
Juvenal
P
"Brevity of style is suited to business; prolixity to learning."
Plutarch
A
"The written word is civilization's greatest achievement."
Apuleius
H
"The written word preserves truth across centuries; this is its sacred power."
Hypatia
P
"The written word outlives the speaker by centuries."
Petronius
P
"The poet sees what others overlook and speaks what others fear to say."
Petronius
"Literature preserves the wisdom of the ages."
Diogenes Laërtius