Literature could be said to be a sort of disciplined technique for arousing certain emotions.

Quote by Iris Murdoch

Topics: Iris Murdoch Quotes

All art is a struggle to be, in a particular sort of way, virtuous.

All art is a struggle to be, in a particular sort of way, virtuous.

Philosophy! Empty thinking by ignorant conceited men who think they can digest without eating!

Philosophy! Empty thinking by ignorant conceited men who think they can digest without eating!

Jealousy is the most dreadfully involuntary of all sins

Jealousy is the most dreadfully involuntary of all sins

In philosophy if you aren't moving at a snail's pace you aren't moving at all.

In philosophy if you aren't moving at a snail's pace you aren't moving at all.

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the...

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the...

I daresay anything can be made holy by being sincerely worshipped.

I daresay anything can be made holy by being sincerely worshipped.

No love is entirely without worth, even when the frivolous calls to the frivolous and...

No love is entirely without worth, even when the frivolous calls to the frivolous and...

But fantasy kills imagination, pornography is death to art.

But fantasy kills imagination, pornography is death to art.

Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at...

Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at...

Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out.

Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out.

The absolute yearning of one human body for another particular body and its indifference to...

The absolute yearning of one human body for another particular body and its indifference to...

The priesthood is a marriage. People often start by falling in love, and they go...

The priesthood is a marriage. People often start by falling in love, and they go...

I think being a woman is like being Irish. Everyone says you're important and nice,...

I think being a woman is like being Irish. Everyone says you're important and nice,...

There is no substitute for the comfort supplied by the utterly taken-for-granted relationship.

There is no substitute for the comfort supplied by the utterly taken-for-granted relationship.

One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.

One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.

Being good is just a matter of temperament in the end.

Being good is just a matter of temperament in the end.

I see myself as Rhoda, not Mary Tyler Moore.

I see myself as Rhoda, not Mary Tyler Moore.

We shall be better prepared for the future if we see how terrible, how doomed...

We shall be better prepared for the future if we see how terrible, how doomed...

We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life...

We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life...

Perhaps when distant people on other planets pick up some wavelength of ours all they...

Perhaps when distant people on other planets pick up some wavelength of ours all they...