It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.
Alain De BottonRead
The idea of a book that can make a change to your life, that can affect your perspective, is a beautiful and great ambition: one that Seneca, Nietzsche and Tolstoy would have sympathised with.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books have the power to change one's life and perspective, reflecting a noble ambition.
This quote highlights the transformative potential of literature, emphasizing how a single book can profoundly influence an individual's thoughts and perceptions. Alain De Botton suggests that this ambition of creating impactful literature is shared by great thinkers like Seneca, Nietzsche, and Tolstoy, who recognized the profound connection between reading and personal growth.
Themes
BooksChangePerspectiveLiteratureEducation
In practice
Example use cases
In a book discussion group, when talking about the impact of literature on personal growth.
More from Alain De Botton
All quotes →Taking architecture seriously therefore makes some singular and strenuous demands upon us...It means conceding that we are inconveniently vulnerable to the colour of our wallpaper and that our sense of purpose may be derailed by an unfortunate bedspread
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The more closely we analyze what we consider 'sexy,' the more clearly we will understand that eroticism is the feeling of excitement we experience at finding another human being who shares our values and our sense of the meaning of existence.
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Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own - but that we could never have described on our own.
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The challenge of modern relationships: how to prove more interesting than the other's smartphone.
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It is the most ambitious and driven among us who are the most sorely in need of having our reckless hopes dampened through immersive dousings in the darkness which religions have explored. This is a particular priority for secular Americans, perhaps the most anxious and disappointed people on earth, for their nation infuses them with the most extreme hopes about what they may be able to achieve in their working lives and relationships.
Alain De BottonRead
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