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Quote by Edwin Percy Whipple

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Literature and life, lects

This book compiles a series of lectures that delve into the profound connections between literary works and the realities of human life. The lectures likely examine various literary themes, authors, and their relevance to contemporary experiences. more

Author

Edwin Percy Whipple

Edwin Percy Whipple was an American essayist known for his significant contributions to 19th-century American literature. Born on March 8, 1819, in Boston, Massachusetts, Whipple passed away on June 16, 1886. His essays, which often delved into themes of morality and social issues, established him as a prominent figure in the literary world. more

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“There is an elasticity in the human mind, capable of bearing much, but which will not show itself, until a certain weight of affliction be put upon it; its powers may be compared to those vehicles whose springs are so contrived that they get on smoothly enough when loaded, but jolt confoundedly when they have nothing to bear.”

“With respect to the authority of great names, it should be remembered that he alone deserves to have any weight and influence with posterity, who has shown himself superior to the particular and predominant error of his own times; who, like the peak of Teneriffe, has hailed the intellectual sun before its beams have reached the horizon of common minds.”

“As in the game of billiards, the balls are constantly producing effects from mere chance, which the most skillful player could neither execute nor foresee, but which, when they do happen, serve mainly to teach him how much he has still to learn; so it is in the most profound and complicated game of politics and diplomacy. In both cases, we can only regulate our play by what we have seen, rather than by what we have hoped; and by what we have experienced, rather than by what we have expected.”