What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
Only in books has mankind known perfect truth, love and beauty.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books encapsulate the ideals of truth, love, and beauty as understood by humanity.
George Bernard Shaw suggests that literature is the only realm where humans have consistently encountered and expressed the perfect forms of truth, love, and beauty. In reality, these concepts often elude everyday life; however, within the pages of books, they are immortalized and explored in their purest forms, offering readers a glimpse into the ideals that resonate deeply with the human experience.
Themes
BooksTruthLoveBeautyLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of reading, one might quote Shaw to emphasize literature's role in appreciating lifeβs ideals.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
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Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
George Bernard ShawRead
Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
George Bernard ShawRead
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
George Bernard ShawRead
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
George Bernard ShawRead
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She liked books more than anything else, and was, in fact, always inventing stories of beautiful things and telling them to herself.
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Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
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In a memoir, your main contract with the reader is to tell the truth, no matter how bizarre.
Edmund WhiteRead