Literature is the effort of man to indemnify himself for the wrongs of his condition.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- People create literature to make up for the hardships and unfairness of life.
- In plain terms
- Writing helps people deal with the bad parts of life.
- What can you take from it?
- Literature compensates for the difficulties of human existence.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does writing help you?
- Is art just compensation?
Another view
Some literature focuses on joy rather than compensating for hardship.
More from Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yet a man may love a paradox, without losing either his wit or his honesty.
Permalink to quote #8 There is always a certain meanness in the argument of conservatism, joined with a certain superiority in its fact.
Permalink to quote #10 I fancy I need more than another to speak (rather than write), with such a formidable tendency to the lapidary style. I build my house of boulders.
Permalink to quote #7
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