Unbounded courage and compassion join'd, Tempering each other in the victor's mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete.
Joseph AddisonRead
Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books preserve the ideas and wisdom of great minds for future generations.
This quote by Joseph Addison highlights the immortal nature of books as they carry the thoughts, creativity, and insights of great thinkers throughout history. It emphasizes that the literary works produced by individuals recognized as geniuses are invaluable legacies, passing knowledge, inspiration, and culture from one generation to the next.
Themes
BooksLegacyGeniusKnowledgeWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of literature, one might say, 'As Joseph Addison stated, books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind.'
More from Joseph Addison
All quotes →Good nature is more agreeable in conversation than wit and gives a certain air to the countenance which is more amiable than beauty.
Joseph AddisonRead
Ridicule is generally made use of to laugh men out of virtue and good sense, by attacking everything praiseworthy in human life.
Joseph AddisonRead
Admiration is a very short lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it still be fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a new perpetual succession of miracles rising up to its view.
Joseph AddisonRead
It is impossible for us, who live in the latter ages of the world, to make observations in criticism, morality, or in any art or science, which have not been touched upon by others. We have little else left us but to represent the common sense of mankind in more strong, more beautiful, or more uncommon lights.
Joseph AddisonRead
An ostentatious man will rather relate a blunder or an absurdity he has committed, than be debarred from talking of his own dear person.
Joseph AddisonRead
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Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.
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