Quote by C.S. Lewis

The history of literature is very far from being one of simple progress.

The history of literature is very far from being one of simp

Summary

This quote suggests that the advancement of literature throughout history is not a linear or straightforward process. It highlights the complexity and diversity that exists within the realm of literature, implying that there is no definitive trajectory or formula for improvement. Rather, the history of literature is marked by various styles, movements, and perspectives that coexist and intertwine, ultimately shaping the evolving nature of literary expression. It argues against the notion of a unified, continuous advancement, emphasizing the multidimensional and ever-changing nature of literary development.

Topics

Literary Criticism

By C.S. Lewis

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

Language can't describe reality. Literature has no stable re

Language can't describe reality. Literature has no stable reference, no real meaning. Each reader's interpretation is equally valid, more important than the author's intention. In fact, nothing in life has meaning. Reality is subjective. Values and truths are subjective. Life itself is a kind of illusion. Blah, blah, blah, let's have another scotch.

Reality Truth Language Literature Values Scotch

In writing biography, fact and fiction shouldn't be mixed. A

In writing biography, fact and fiction shouldn't be mixed. And if they are, the fictional points should be printed in red ink, the facts printed in black ink.

Catherine Drinker Bowen

Legacy

I'm fairly fond of boys, but my preference is for girls; Whe

I'm fairly fond of boys, but my preference is for girls; When I have enough of a girl, she serves me still as a boy.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Sexuality

We continue to recognize the greater ability of some to earn

We continue to recognize the greater ability of some to earn more than others. But we do assert that the ambition of the individual to obtain for him a proper security is an ambition to be preferred to the appetite for great wealth and great power.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Dad

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the heart of the fool is in the house of entertainment.

Heart

Human beings used to be molecules which could do many, many

Human beings used to be molecules which could do many, many different sorts of dances, or decline to dance at all --as they pleased. My mother could do the waltz, the tango, the rumba....

Dancing

September 11 awoke us to the threat of terrorism. It was for

September 11 awoke us to the threat of terrorism. It was forever bookmarked in our history as the day when life as Americans knew it, changed forever.

Your joys and sorrows. You can never tell them. You cheapen

Your joys and sorrows. You can never tell them. You cheapen the inside of yourself if you do tell them.

Sad

One must reach out and try to grasp this astonishing finesse

One must reach out and try to grasp this astonishing finesse, that the value of lif cannot be estimated.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Philosophy

All thought must, directly or indirectly, by way of certain

All thought must, directly or indirectly, by way of certain characters, relate ultimately to intuitions, and therefore, with us, to sensibility, because in no other way can an object be given to us.

Thought

Too many people confine their exercise to jumping to conclus

Too many people confine their exercise to jumping to conclusions, running up bills, stretching the truth, bending over backward, lying down on the job, sidestepping responsibility and pushing their luck.

Humanity

Happiness or satisfaction consists only in the enjoyment of

Happiness or satisfaction consists only in the enjoyment of those objects which are by nature suited to our several particular appetites, passions, and affections.

Happiness