"The function of literature, through all its mutations, has been to make us aware of the particularity of selves, and the high authority of the self in its quarrel with its society and its culture. Literature is in that sense subversive."

Society, Authority, Culture, Literature

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"The function of literature, through all its mutations, has been to make us aware of the particularity of selves, and the high authority of the self in its quarrel with its society and its culture. Literature is in that sense subversive."

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"If there were no women then men would still be living in the jungle."

Debasish Mridha, American Author

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"Teaching the myth of creation to the students instead of teaching them the fact of evolution is nothing but an act of ultimate ignorance!"

Mehmet Murat ildan, Turkish Philosopher

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"We must stop expecting the government to play the role of national transformation why we sit down and watch."

Sunday Adelaja, Nigerian Author

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"There are two groups of people: Herds and individual clever people. Because herds have numerical superiority, individual clever people remain weak in determining the right fate for the country! The solution: Disperse the herds, augment the individuals!"

Mehmet Murat ildan, Turkish Philosopher

Society, Truth, Inspirational, Wisdom, Power

"This was my first time in Govan. You could smell and taste the thick smog in the air. The Blue Triangle was a new high-tech building, and it didn't look right standing there in front of older and more historical buildings. The Blue Triangle may have looked great from the outside, but once inside, to my horror, it was full of young teenage boys and girls full of deep and dark depression."

Stephen Richards, British Author

Society, Govan, Smog, Blue, Triangle

"Why does the rest of the world put up with the hypocrisy, the need to put a happy face on sorrow, the need to keep on keeping on?... I don't know the answer, I know only that I can't."

Elizabeth Wurtzel, American Writer

Society, Hypocrisy, Rest, Sorrow, World

"If you think of your own mother to be the only true mother in the world and thereby start belittling people from other mothers as bastards, that makes you a bigot and a germ on the face of earth. This is an unhealthy bias, even though in your personal mental universe it may provide you extreme comfort. This is exactly what we see in the religious fundamentalists."

Abhijit Naskar, Indian Author

Society, Bigotry, Truth, Humanity, Religion

"Genius tries to conquer the world with art, with songs, with words; stupid tries to conquer it with sword, with guns, with arrows!"

Mehmet Murat ildan, Turkish Philosopher

Society, Truth, Power, Life, Wisdom

"To create an enlightened society, be a beacon of light"

Debasish Mridha, American Author

Society, Enlightenment, Light, Inspiration

"In a patriarchal society, one of the most important functions of the institution of the family is to make feel like a somebody whenever he is in his own yard a man who is a nobody whenever he is in his employer's yard."

Mokokoma Mokhonoana, South African Philosopher

Society, Truth, Wisdom, Power, Life

Explore more quotes by Lionel Trilling

"The function of literature, through all its mutations, has been to make us aware of the particularity of selves, and the high authority of the self in its quarrel with its society and its culture. Literature is in that sense subversive."

Society, Authority, Culture, Literature

"Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecution, imposes judgment and executes the sentence: all to the end that someone else should not perform the same process."

Legal, End, Judgment, Neurosis

"The poet is in command of his fantasy, while it is exactly the mark of the neurotic that he is possessed by his fantasy."

Writing, Fantasy

"We are at heart so profoundly anarchistic that the only form of state we can imagine living in is Utopian; and so cynical that the only Utopia we can believe in is authoritarian."

Heart, Living, State, Utopia

"We who are liberal and progressive know that the poor are our equals in every sense except that of being equal to us."

Being, Liberal, Poor, Sense

"We are all ill: but even a universal sickness implies an idea of health."

Health, Idea, Sickness

"There is no connection between the political ideas of our educated class and the deep places of the imagination."

Imagination, Ideas, Class, Connection

"Immature artists imitate. Mature artists steal."

Creativity, Artists

"Being a Jew is like walking in the wind or swimming: you are touched at all points and conscious everywhere."

Being, Walking, Wind

"The immature artist imitates. Mature artists steal."

Creativity, Artist, Artists