When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.
Edith HamiltonRead
A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Literature reflects the true character and knowledge of a society.
Edith Hamilton emphasizes that literature serves as a profound medium through which we can understand a culture and its people. Unlike historical accounts, contemporary writings capture the essence, values, and quality of a societyβs character, offering insights into their beliefs, struggles, and aspirations.
Themes
LiteratureKnowledgeCultureSocietyCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about how literature can reflect societal values, this quote could serve as a strong point.
More from Edith Hamilton
All quotes βThe power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat.
Edith HamiltonRead
Theories that go counter to the facts of human nature are foredoomed.
Edith HamiltonRead
To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful ... was a mark of the Greek spirit.
Edith HamiltonRead
Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom.
Edith HamiltonRead
So far, we do not seem appalled at the prospect of exactly the same kind of education being applied to all the school children from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but there is an uneasiness in the air, a realization that the individual is growing less easy to find; an idea, perhaps, of what standardization might become when the units are not machines, but human beings.
Edith HamiltonRead
Similar quotes
The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.
Walt WhitmanRead
In a word, literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disfranchised. No barrier of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourse of my book-friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness. The things I have learned and the things I have been taught seem of ridiculously little importance compared with their "large loves and heavenly charities.
Helen KellerRead
Chapter One. The Bride." He held up the book then. "I'm reading it to you for relax." He practically shoved the book in my face. "By S. Morgenstern. Great Florinese writer. The Princess Bride. He too came to America. S. Morgenstern. Dead now in New York. The English is his own. He spoke eight tongues." Here my father put down the book and held up all his fingers. "Eight. Once in Florin City...
William GoldmanRead
There might be a different model for a literary community that's quicker, more real-time, and involves more spontaneity.
George SaundersRead
If I pick up a book with spaceships on the cover, I want spaceships. If I see one with dragons, I want there to be dragons inside the book. Proper labeling. Ethical labeling. I don't want to open up my cornflakes and find that they're full of pebbles... You need to respect the reader enough not to call it something it isn't.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Itβs a small story really, about, among other things: * A girl * Some words * An accordionist * Some fanatical Germans * A Jewish fist fighter * And quite a lot of thievery
Markus ZusakRead