--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novels may teach us as wholesome a moral…" description: "\"Novels may teach us as wholesome a moral as the pulpit. There are \"sermons in stones,\" in healthy books, and \"good in everything.\" — Charles Caleb Colton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/charles-caleb-colton-270_book_novels-may-teach-us-as-wholesome-a-moral_1937900.png" --- # Novels may teach us as wholesome a moral as the pulpit… ![“Novels may teach us as wholesome a moral as the pulpit. There are "sermons in stones," in healthy books, and "good in everything.” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/charles-caleb-colton-270_book_novels-may-teach-us-as-wholesome-a-moral_1937900.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/charles-caleb-colton-270_book_novels-may-teach-us-as-wholesome-a-moral_1937900.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/charles-caleb-colton-270_book_novels-may-teach-us-as-wholesome-a-moral_1937900.png) > “Novels may teach us as wholesome a moral as the pulpit. There are "sermons in stones," in healthy books, and "good in everything.” [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature can convey moral lessons as powerfully as religious preaching, offering ethical guidance through narrative. **In simple terms:** Books can teach morals like sermons. Key Takeaway Read fiction for ethical insight. Themes morality education literature Mood reflective inspirational Type didactic philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - teaching - cultural critique - spiritual reflection Key Concepts Ethics didacticism Questions to Reflect On - How does a story influence your values? - Can fiction replace formal teaching? A Different Perspective Literature may lack authority of religious institutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Pulpit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulpit/) [Sermons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sermons/) [Wholesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholesome/) ## Related quotes > [“One must learn to love oneself- thus do I teach- with a wholesome and healthy love: that one may endure to be with oneself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-must-learn-to-love-oneself-thus-do-i-teach-with-a-wholesome-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Novels teach you that actions have consequences. They help you grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/novels-teach-you-that-actions-have-consequences-they-help-you-grow-up/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Literature is a source of pleasure, he said, it is one of the rare inexhaustible joys in life, but it's not only that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-coss/literature-is-a-source-of-pleasure-he-said-it-is-one-of-the-rare/) [Laurence Cossé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-coss/) > [Asking the author of historical novels to teach you about history is like expecting the composer of a melody to provide answers about radio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lion-feuchtwanger/asking-the-author-of-historical-novels-to-teach-you-about-history-is/) [Lion Feuchtwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lion-feuchtwanger/) > [Novels teach the youthful mind to sigh after happiness that never existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/novels-teach-the-youthful-mind-to-sigh-after-happiness-that-never/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [In pulpit eloquence, the grand difficulty lies here--to give the subject all the dignity it so fully deserves, without attaching any importance to ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/in-pulpit-eloquence-the-grand-difficulty-lies-here-to-give-the/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The more women we elect to public office, the more wholesome the whole process will be, whether it's government, politics, whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/the-more-women-we-elect-to-public-office-the-more-wholesome-the-whole/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [A wholesome sense of humor will be a safety valve that will enable you to apply the lighter touch to heavy problems and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-b-brown/a-wholesome-sense-of-humor-will-be-a-safety-valve-that-will-enable/) [Hugh B. 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Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [The hard sayings of our Lord are wholesome to those only who find them hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hard-sayings-of-our-lord-are-wholesome-to-those-only-who-find/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know that everyone thinks that in order to do South Park we must be wild, crazy, rock and roll stars. But the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-parker/you-know-that-everyone-thinks-that-in-order-to-do-south-park-we-must/) [Trey Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-parker/) > [I think there are many faces to everyone. I also have my bad sides. Also I think everyone is trying to improve their shortcomings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhou-xun/i-think-there-are-many-faces-to-everyone-i-also-have-my-bad-sides/) [Zhou Xun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhou-xun/) > [“We are perfect children. Mentally, physically, emotionally, we are wholesome, and godly in every way possible. We have as much right to live, love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/we-are-perfect-children-mentally-physically-emotionally-we-are/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) ## More by Charles Caleb Colton > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. 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