G. H. Lewes Quotes
Books minister to our knowledge, to our guidance, and to our delight, by their truth, their uprightness, and their art.
It is unhappily true that much insincere Literature and Art, executed solely with a view to effect, does succeed by deceiving the public.
The true function of philosophy is to educate us in the principles of reasoning and not to put an end to further reasoning by the introduction of fixed conclusions.
To write much, and to write rapidly, are empty boasts. The world desires to know what you have done, and not how you did it.
In the air we breathe, in the water we drink, in the earth we tread on, Life is every where. Nature lives: every pore is bursting with Life ; every death is only a new birth, every grave a cradle.
The delusions of self-love cannot be prevented, but intellectual misconceptions as to the means of achieving success may be corrected.
Character is built out of circumstances. From exactly the same materials, one man builds palaces, while another builds hovels.
Endeavour to be faithful, and if there is any beauty in your thought, your style will be beautiful; if there is any real emotion to express, the expression will be moving.
Many a genius has been slow of growth. Oaks that flourish for a thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed.
When a man fails to see the truth of certain generally accepted views, there is no law compelling him to provoke animosity by announcing his dissent.
Imagination is not the exclusive appanage of artists, but belongs in varying degrees to all men.
In its happiest efforts, translation is but approximation, and its efforts are not often happy. A translation may be good as translation, but it cannot be an adequate reproduction of the original.
As all Art depends on Vision, so the different kinds of Art depend on the different ways in which minds look at things.
No deeply rooted tendency was ever extirpated by adverse judgment. Not having originally been founded on argument, it cannot be destroyed by logic.
If you feel yourself to be above the mass, speak so as to raise the mass to the height of your argument.
The air is crowded with birds -- beautiful, tender, intelligent birds -- to whom life is a song.
All bad Literature rests upon imperfect insight, or upon imitation, which may be defined as seeing at second-hand.
To some men popularity is always suspicious. Enjoying none themselves, they are prone to suspect the validity of those attainments which command it.
Remember that every drop of rain that falls bears into the bosom of the earth a quality of beautiful fertility.
In Science the paramount appeal is to the Intellect-its purpose being instruction; in Art, the paramount appeal is to the Emotions-its purpose being pleasure.
The great desire of this age is for a doctrine which may serve to condense our knowledge, guide our researches, and shape our lives, so that conduct may really be the consequence of belief
Among the many strange servilities mistaken for pieties, one of the least lovely is that which hopes to flatter God by despising the world, and vilifying human nature.
Books have become our dearest companions, yielding exquisite delights and inspiring lofty aims.
The intensity of vision in the artist and of vividness in his creations are the sole tests of his imaginative power.
In all sincere speech there is power, not necessarily great power, but as much as the speaker is capable of.
Pliny... makes the statement, and for untrustworthiness of statement he cannot easily be surpassed.
A man must be himself convinced if he is to convince others. The prophet must be his own disciple, or he will make none. Enthusiasm is contagious: belief creates belief.
