A bookshop is powder-magazine, a dynamite-shed, a drugstore of poisons, a bar of intoxicants, a den of opiates, an island of sirens.
John Cowper PowysRead
To read great books does not mean one becomes ‘bookish’; it means that something of the terrible insight of Dostoyevsky, of the richly-charged imagination of Shakespeare, of the luminous wisdom of Goethe, actually passes into the personality of the reader; so that in contact with the chaos of ordinary life certain free and flowing outlines emerge, like the forms of some classic picture, endowing both people and things with a grandeur beyond what is visible to the superficial glance.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Reading great literature enriches the reader's inner self and perspective on life.
In this quote, Powys emphasizes that engaging with profound literary works transcends mere book learning; instead, it transforms the reader's understanding and interpretation of everyday life. Through the insights of great authors, readers develop a deeper appreciation for the complexities of existence, enabling them to perceive beauty and significance that may be overlooked in a superficial way.
Themes
ReadingLiteratureWisdomInsightTransformation
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussion about the impact of literature on personal growth.
More from John Cowper Powys
All quotes →Similar quotes
The more hours of television a girl watches, the fewer options she thinks she has in life.
Geena DavisRead
I don't want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got, the Army, Iraq, I don't know, something like that. It's, it's not as bright. So, that's my little commercial for that.
Stephen KingRead
Education is not simply to learn to read and write. It's emancipation. It makes you free.
Ziauddin YousafzaiRead
The libraries of America are and must ever remain the home of free and inquiring minds. To them, our citizens-of all ages and races, of all creeds and persuasions-must be able to turn with clear confidence that there they can freely seek the whole truth, unvarnished by fashion and uncompromised by expediency.
Dwight D. EisenhowerRead
Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words.
Betty SmithRead
There is a huge gap between what students want for their future and what their schools are offering.
Laurene Powell JobsRead