Great literature should do some good to the reader: must quicken his perception though dull, and sharpen his discrimination though blunt, and mellow the rawness of his personal opinions.

Quote by A E Housman

Topics: Literature Quotes

Nature, not content with denying him the ability to think, has endowed him with the...

Nature, not content with denying him the ability to think, has endowed him with the...

That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, the happy highways...

That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, the happy highways...

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to...

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to...

The laws of God, the laws of man he may keep that will and can;...

The laws of God, the laws of man he may keep that will and can;...

If a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the...

If a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the...

In every American there is an air of incorrigible innocence, which seems to conceal a...

In every American there is an air of incorrigible innocence, which seems to conceal a...

And malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.

And malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.

Great literature should do some good to the reader: must quicken his perception though dull,...

Great literature should do some good to the reader: must quicken his perception though dull,...

And silence sounds no worse than cheers / After death has stopped the ears.

And silence sounds no worse than cheers / After death has stopped the ears.

Who made the world I cannot tell; 'Tis made, and here am I in hell....

Who made the world I cannot tell; 'Tis made, and here am I in hell....

I find Cambridge an asylum, in every sense of the word.

I find Cambridge an asylum, in every sense of the word.

The average man, if he meddles with criticism at all, is a conservative critic.

The average man, if he meddles with criticism at all, is a conservative critic.

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to...

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to...

The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in.

The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in.

Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale.

Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale.

The troubles of our proud and angry dust are from eternity, and shall not fail....

The troubles of our proud and angry dust are from eternity, and shall not fail....

Here dead lie we because we did not choose to live and shame the land...

Here dead lie we because we did not choose to live and shame the land...