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About this quote

What does it mean?
Classics are outdated like old machinery, not because they are bad, but because they are primitive.
In plain terms
Old books are just early versions of modern ones.
What can you take from it?
Classics are outdated models.

Where it applies

  • literary criticism
  • cultural views

Putting it to work

  • re-evaluating classics

Questions to consider

  • Are old works still useful?

Another view

Classics often hold timeless truths beyond utility.

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  3. Personally, I would sooner have written Alice in Wonderland than the whole Encyclopedia Britannica.

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