The selective instinct of the artist tells him when his language should be homely, and when it should be more elevated; and it is precisely in the imperceptible blending of the plain with the ornate that a great writer is… — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
In urging all writers to be steadfast in reliance on the ultimate victory of excellence, we should no less strenuously urge upon them to beware of the intemperate arrogance which attributes failure to a degraded condition of the public mind.… — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
Heart and Brain are the two lords of life. In the metaphors of ordinary speech and in the stricter language of science, we use… — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
It is unhappily true that much insincere Literature and Art, executed solely with a view to effect, does succeed by deceiving the public. — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
I have always considered The Merry Wives one of the worst plays, if not altogether the worst, that Shakespeare has left us. The wit… — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
Literature is at once the cause and the effect of social progress. — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
Literature is at once the cause and the effect of social progress. It deepens our natural sensibilities, and strengthens by exercise our intellectual capacities.… — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
If you feel yourself to be above the mass, speak so as to raise the mass to the height of your argument. — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
To some men popularity is always suspicious. Enjoying none themselves, they are prone to suspect the validity of those attainments which command it. — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
The art of writing is not, as many seem to imagine, the art of bringing fine phrases into rhythmical order, but the art of… — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
Literature delivers tidings of the world within and the world without. — George Henry Lewes Copy Share Image
