To starve a child of the spell of the story, of the canter of the poem, oral or written, is a kind of living burial. It is to immure him in emptiness.
George SteinerRead
The letter kills the spirit. The written text is mute in the face of responding challenge. It does not admit of inward growth and correction. Text subverts the absolutely vital role of memory.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Written text can lack the depth of understanding and adaptability that memory and personal interpretation provide.
In this quote, George Steiner emphasizes the limitations of written words in capturing the full essence of human experience. He argues that while text may serve to convey information, it lacks the ability to grow and adapt through personal reflection and memory, which allows for deeper understanding and engagement with ideas. This perspective invites readers to consider the value of lived experiences and the fluid nature of knowledge that transcends static written records.
Themes
Written TextMemoryHuman ExperienceUnderstandingGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary analysis class discussing the power of words versus memory.
More from George Steiner
All quotes →The most important tribute any human being can pay to a poem or a piece of prose he or she really loves is to learn it by heart. Not by brain, by heart; the expression is vital.
George SteinerRead
Every language is a world. Without translation, we would inhabit parishes bordering on silence.
George SteinerRead
I have every reason to believe that an individual man or woman fluent in several tongues seduces, possesses, remembers differently according to his or her use of the relevant language.
George SteinerRead
It took 10 months for me to learn to tie a lace; I must have howled with rage and frustration. But one day I could tie my laces. That no one can take from you. I profoundly distrust the pedagogy of ease.
George SteinerRead
Books are in no hurry. An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely. The notion that it is the occasion for our cleverness fills me with baffled bitterness and anger.
George SteinerRead
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