--- title: "11 Literature Thought Quotes by 10 authors" description: "Browse 11 Literature Thought quotes by 10 authors. Discover the best Literature Thought sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png" --- > [Literature is the thought of thinking souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-souls/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png) > [“In literature there is no such thing as a pure thought; in literature, thought is always the handmaid of emotion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-middleton-murry/in-literature-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-pure-thought-in-literature/) [John Middleton Murry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-middleton-murry/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/john-middleton-murry-97032_books_in-literature-there-is-no-such-thing-as_2239568.jpg) > [I think the great artists, especially in literature, have always thought with the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-sirk/i-think-the-great-artists-especially-in-literature-have-always/) [Douglas Sirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-sirk/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/douglas-sirk-19509_always_i-think-the-great-artists-especially-in_1610616.jpg) > [I used to be more of a purist about literature. I thought, 'If it's a really propulsive story, then maybe there's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/i-used-to-be-more-of-a-purist-about-literature-i-thought-if-it-s-a/) [Steven Heighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-heighton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/steven-heighton-30959_about_i-used-to-be-more-of-a-purist-about-lite_1710406.jpg) > [The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/alan-bennett-1922_appeals_the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in_200348.jpg) > [“Look at it this way: if you were convinced that the world had forgotten how to think and teach, if you believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera/look-at-it-this-way-if-you-were-convinced-that-the-world-had/) [Natalia Sanmartín Fenollera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fd/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera-33_art_look-at-it-this-way-if-you-were-convince_2377345.jpg) > [“Literature, I have always thought, is in most places and companies a singularly dull and uninteresting thing to talk about, but one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurrell-mallock/literature-i-have-always-thought-is-in-most-places-and-companies-a/) [William Hurrell Mallock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurrell-mallock/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/william-hurrell-mallock-32719_books_literature-i-have-always-thought-is-in-m_3073346.jpg) > [Iliad by Homer is one of the great stories in literature. And I thought its themes really resonated today, whether that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/iliad-by-homer-is-one-of-the-great-stories-in-literature-and-i/) [Brad Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-pitt/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/brad-pitt-1608_books_iliad-by-homer-is-one-of-the-great-stori_655574.jpg) > [I'd studied English literature and American history, but the English literature, which I thought was going to be helpful to me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-d-studied-english-literature-and-american-history-but-the-english/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/lynne-tillman-5609_american-history_i-d-studied-english-literature-and-ameri_128643.png) > [I used to do miserably in English literature, which I thought was a sign of moral turpitude. As I look back on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-wentworth/i-used-to-do-miserably-in-english-literature-which-i-thought-was-a/) [Patricia Wentworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-wentworth/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/patricia-wentworth-13321_books_i-used-to-do-miserably-in-english-litera_1053484.jpg) > [“The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was-2/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/alan-bennett-1922_books_the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in_665119.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-thought/#itemlist", "name": "Literature Thought Quotes", "numberOfItems": 11, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Literature is the thought of thinking souls.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Carlyle" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-souls/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Literature is the thought of thinking souls.” — Thomas Carlyle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In literature there is no such thing as a pure thought; in literature, thought is always the handmaid of emotion.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Middleton Murry" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-middleton-murry/in-literature-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-pure-thought-in-literature/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/john-middleton-murry-97032_books_in-literature-there-is-no-such-thing-as_2239568.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/john-middleton-murry-97032_books_in-literature-there-is-no-such-thing-as_2239568.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/john-middleton-murry-97032_books_in-literature-there-is-no-such-thing-as_2239568.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In literature there is no such thing as a pure thought; in literature, thought is always the handmaid of…” — John Middleton Murry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the great artists, especially in literature, have always thought with the heart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Sirk" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-sirk/i-think-the-great-artists-especially-in-literature-have-always/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/douglas-sirk-19509_always_i-think-the-great-artists-especially-in_1610616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/douglas-sirk-19509_always_i-think-the-great-artists-especially-in_1610616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/douglas-sirk-19509_always_i-think-the-great-artists-especially-in_1610616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the great artists, especially in literature, have always thought with the heart.” — Douglas Sirk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I used to be more of a purist about literature. I thought, 'If it's a really propulsive story, then maybe there's something unliterary about it.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Heighton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-heighton/i-used-to-be-more-of-a-purist-about-literature-i-thought-if-it-s-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/steven-heighton-30959_about_i-used-to-be-more-of-a-purist-about-lite_1710406.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/steven-heighton-30959_about_i-used-to-be-more-of-a-purist-about-lite_1710406.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/steven-heighton-30959_about_i-used-to-be-more-of-a-purist-about-lite_1710406.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I used to be more of a purist about literature. 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Literature, she thought, is a commonwealth; letters a republic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Bennett" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/alan-bennett-1922_appeals_the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in_200348.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/alan-bennett-1922_appeals_the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in_200348.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/alan-bennett-1922_appeals_the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in_200348.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about…” — Alan Bennett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Look at it this way: if you were convinced that the world had forgotten how to think and teach, if you believed it had discarded the beauty of art and literature, if you thought it had crushed the power of the truth, would you let that world educate your children?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Natalia Sanmartín Fenollera" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera/look-at-it-this-way-if-you-were-convinced-that-the-world-had/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fd/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera-33_art_look-at-it-this-way-if-you-were-convince_2377345.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fd/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera-33_art_look-at-it-this-way-if-you-were-convince_2377345.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fd/natalia-sanmartin-fenollera-33_art_look-at-it-this-way-if-you-were-convince_2377345.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Look at it this way: if you were convinced that the world had forgotten how to think and teach, if you…” — Natalia Sanmartín Fenollera", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Literature, I have always thought, is in most places and companies a singularly dull and uninteresting thing to talk about, but one may, as a rule, hate literary conversation, and yet at the right moment, with all its powers of feeling, the mind in silence may feel what it owes to literature.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Hurrell Mallock" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurrell-mallock/literature-i-have-always-thought-is-in-most-places-and-companies-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/william-hurrell-mallock-32719_books_literature-i-have-always-thought-is-in-m_3073346.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/william-hurrell-mallock-32719_books_literature-i-have-always-thought-is-in-m_3073346.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff5/william-hurrell-mallock-32719_books_literature-i-have-always-thought-is-in-m_3073346.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Literature, I have always thought, is in most places and companies a singularly dull and uninteresting thing…” — William Hurrell Mallock", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Iliad by Homer is one of the great stories in literature. And I thought its themes really resonated today, whether that was my projection or Homer's intentions. It didn't seem like we had come very far.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brad Pitt" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-pitt/iliad-by-homer-is-one-of-the-great-stories-in-literature-and-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/brad-pitt-1608_books_iliad-by-homer-is-one-of-the-great-stori_655574.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/brad-pitt-1608_books_iliad-by-homer-is-one-of-the-great-stori_655574.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7b/brad-pitt-1608_books_iliad-by-homer-is-one-of-the-great-stori_655574.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Iliad by Homer is one of the great stories in literature. And I thought its themes really resonated today…” — Brad Pitt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'd studied English literature and American history, but the English literature, which I thought was going to be helpful to me in an immediate way, was the opposite. So I had to un-think a lot of things and move out of my own head, and I learned a lot. It was like graduate school, but an un-graduate school or an un-school.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lynne Tillman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-d-studied-english-literature-and-american-history-but-the-english/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/lynne-tillman-5609_american-history_i-d-studied-english-literature-and-ameri_128643.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/lynne-tillman-5609_american-history_i-d-studied-english-literature-and-ameri_128643.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/lynne-tillman-5609_american-history_i-d-studied-english-literature-and-ameri_128643.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd studied English literature and American history, but the English literature, which I thought was going…” — Lynne Tillman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I used to do miserably in English literature, which I thought was a sign of moral turpitude. As I look back on it, I think it was rather to my credit. The notion of actually putting writers' words into other words is quite ridiculous because why bother if writers mean what they mean, and if they don't, why read them? There is, I suppose, a case for studying literary works in depth, but I don't quite know what 'in depth' means unless you read a paragraph over and over again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patricia Wentworth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-wentworth/i-used-to-do-miserably-in-english-literature-which-i-thought-was-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/patricia-wentworth-13321_books_i-used-to-do-miserably-in-english-litera_1053484.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/patricia-wentworth-13321_books_i-used-to-do-miserably-in-english-litera_1053484.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/patricia-wentworth-13321_books_i-used-to-do-miserably-in-english-litera_1053484.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I used to do miserably in English literature, which I thought was a sign of moral turpitude. As I look back…” — Patricia Wentworth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. All readers were equal, herself included. Literature, she thought, is a commonwealth; letters a republic. Actually she had heard this phrase, the republic of letters, used before, at graduation ceremonies, honorary degrees and the like, though without knowing quite what it meant. At that time talk of a republic of any sort she had thought mildly insulting and in her actual presence tactless to say the least. It was only now she understood what it meant. Books did not defer. All readers were equal and this took her back to the beginning of her life. As a girl, one of her greatest thrills had been on VE night when she and her sister had slipped out of the gates and mingled unrecognised with the crowds. There was something of that, she felt, to reading. It was anonymous; it was shared; it was common. And she who had led a life apart now found that she craved it. Here in these pages and between these covers she could go unrecognised.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Bennett" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/alan-bennett-1922_books_the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in_665119.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/alan-bennett-1922_books_the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in_665119.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f32/alan-bennett-1922_books_the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in_665119.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about…” — Alan Bennett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-thought/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-thought/", "name": "Literature Thought Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-thought/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/thomas-carlyle-207_books_literature-is-the-thought-of-thinking-so_761368.png" }, "description": "Browse 11 Literature Thought quotes by 10 authors. 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