---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your ideal authors ought to pull you from…"
description: "\"Your ideal authors ought to pull you from the foundering of your previous existence, not smilingly guide you into a friendly and peaceable harbor.\" — C..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/christopher-hitchens-117_books_your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-fro_946420.jpg"
---

#  Your ideal authors ought to pull you from the foundering…

![“Your ideal authors ought to pull you from the foundering of your previous existence, not smilingly guide you into a friendly and peaceable harbor.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/christopher-hitchens-117_books_your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-fro_946420.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/christopher-hitchens-117_books_your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-fro_946420.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/christopher-hitchens-117_books_your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-fro_946420.jpg)

> “Your ideal authors ought to pull you from the foundering of your previous existence, not smilingly guide you into a friendly and peaceable harbor.”

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Authors should transform readers, not just provide comfort.

**In simple terms:** Authors should reshape lives.

Key Takeaway

Seek transformative literature.

Themes

literature transformation guidance

Mood

thoughtful inspirational

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- education
- personal crisis
- creative inspiration

Key Concepts

philosophy existentialism growth

Questions to Reflect On

- What books have reshaped you?
- Can comfort coexist with challenge?

A Different Perspective

Comfort can be valuable too.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Authors Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors-ought-1655160/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Entrepreneurship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurship/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Foundering Previous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foundering-previous-1655163/) [Friendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendly/) [Friendly Peaceable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendly-peaceable-1655161/) [Guides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guides/) [Harbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harbors/) [Ideal Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-authors-1655162/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Ought Pull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought-pull-1655164/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [“The spouses of authors ought to really read their better halves books. What is found amidst those pages may enlighten them to knowing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sai-marie-johnson/the-spouses-of-authors-ought-to-really-read-their-better-halves-books/)

[Sai Marie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sai-marie-johnson/)

> [Never harbor grudges; they sour your stomach and do no harm to anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/never-harbor-grudges-they-sour-your-stomach-and-do-no-harm-to-anyone/)

[Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/)

> [The church is a sort of hospital for men's souls, and as full of quackery as the hospital for their bodies. Those who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-church-is-a-sort-of-hospital-for-men-s-souls-and-as-full-of/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, oil spills and radioactive fallout cause massive death of people, pigs, bats and birds. These disasters also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stamets/disasters-such-as-earthquakes-tsunamis-volcanoes-floods-oil-spills/)

[Paul Stamets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stamets/)

> [Now, men think, with regard to their conduct, that, if they were to lift themselves up gigantically and commit some crashing sin, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/now-men-think-with-regard-to-their-conduct-that-if-they-were-to-lift/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [I've set a clear doctrine: America makes no distinction between the terrorists and the countries that harbor them. If you harbor a terrorist, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-ve-set-a-clear-doctrine-america-makes-no-distinction-between-the/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [He who harbors hatred and bitterness injures himself far more than the one towards whom he manifests these evil propensities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/he-who-harbors-hatred-and-bitterness-injures-himself-far-more-than/)

[David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/)

> [It was the kind of town that made you feel like Humphrey Bogart: you came in on a bumpy little plane, and, for some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/it-was-the-kind-of-town-that-made-you-feel-like-humphrey-bogart-you/)

[Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/)

> [If liberals had been in charge of the Arizona memorial, it would probably have featured an exhaustive exhibit about the internment of Japanese Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/if-liberals-had-been-in-charge-of-the-arizona-memorial-it-would/)

[Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/)

> [The cross of Christ is the sweetest burden that I ever bore; it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-rutherford/the-cross-of-christ-is-the-sweetest-burden-that-i-ever-bore-it-is/)

[Samuel Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-rutherford/)

> [I never slept as soundly as the night following Pearl Harbor. For I knew that The American Race would now be entering the war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-never-slept-as-soundly-as-the-night-following-pearl-harbor-for-i/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [Seek opportunity, not security. A boat in the harbor is safe, but in time its bottom will rot out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seek-opportunity-not-security-a-boat-in-the-harbor-is-safe-but-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Frostpine made a face. Lifting the cup, he dumped its contents down his throat. “Auugghh!” he yelled, his voice stronger than it had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/frostpine-made-a-face-lifting-the-cup-he-dumped-its-contents-down-his/)

[Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/)

> [I think Kafka was right when he said that for a modern, secular, nonreligious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-think-kafka-was-right-when-he-said-that-for-a-modern-secular/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/)

[Jim Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wright/)

## More by Christopher Hitchens

> [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

[Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

[Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/)

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

[Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/)

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Your ideal authors ought to pull you from the foundering of your previous existence, not smilingly guide you into a friendly and peaceable harbor.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Christopher Hitchens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-from-the-foundering-of-your/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-from-the-foundering-of-your/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/christopher-hitchens-117_books_your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-fro_946420.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/christopher-hitchens-117_books_your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-fro_946420.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/christopher-hitchens-117_books_your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-fro_946420.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Your ideal authors ought to pull you from the foundering of your previous existence, not smilingly guide you…” — Christopher Hitchens",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Christopher Hitchens",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Your ideal authors ought to pull...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-from-the-foundering-of-your/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/your-ideal-authors-ought-to-pull-you-from-the-foundering-of-your/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
