--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is literature compared with cooking?…" description: "\"What is literature compared with cooking? The one is shadow, the other is substance.\" — E. V. Lucas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/e-v-lucas-21361_books_what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking_1277234.jpg" --- # What is literature compared with cooking? The one is… ![“What is literature compared with cooking? The one is shadow, the other is substance.” quote by E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/e-v-lucas-21361_books_what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking_1277234.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/e-v-lucas-21361_books_what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking_1277234.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/e-v-lucas-21361_books_what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking_1277234.jpg) > “What is literature compared with cooking? The one is shadow, the other is substance.” [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature offers intangible ideas like shadows, while cooking provides tangible, nourishing substance. **In simple terms:** Literature is abstract; cooking is concrete. Key Takeaway Value both imagination and practical sustenance. Themes art culinary metaphor Mood thoughtful appetizing Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - teaching - creative writing - food blogging Key Concepts symbolism sensory experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance intellectual depth with practical needs? - What role does sensory experience play in your creative work? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on substance can neglect imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [“The shadow has become the substance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-shadow-has-become-the-substance/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [You think the shadow is the substance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-think-the-shadow-is-the-substance/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Anti-alcoholics are unfortunates in the grip of water, that terrible poison, so corrosive that out of all substances it has been chosen for washing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-jarry/anti-alcoholics-are-unfortunates-in-the-grip-of-water-that-terrible/) [Alfred Jarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-jarry/) > [Cooking for yourself is the only sure way to take back control of your diet from the food scientists and food processors, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/cooking-for-yourself-is-the-only-sure-way-to-take-back-control-of/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [The history of institutions is often a history of deception and illusions; for their virtue depends on the ideas that produce and on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-history-of-institutions-is-often-a-history-of-deception-and/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. The first step is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-doblin/the-cultural-integration-of-psychedelics-won-t-happen-overnight-and/) [Rick Doblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-doblin/) > [ I don't think in national categories. For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [Art is an attempt to give substance to existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sondra-horton-fraleigh/art-is-an-attempt-to-give-substance-to-existence/) Sondra Horton Fraleigh > [My main aim has always been to do good quality films with roles that have some substance. With Power and Beauty there were loads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-henstridge/my-main-aim-has-always-been-to-do-good-quality-films-with-roles-that/) [Natasha Henstridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-henstridge/) > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [In that part of the book of my memory before the which is little that can be read, there is a rubric, saying, Incipit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/in-that-part-of-the-book-of-my-memory-before-the-which-is-little-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [This is true; virtually all edible substances, and many automotive products, are now marketed as being low-fat or fat-free. Americans are obsessed with fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-is-true-virtually-all-edible-substances-and-many-automotive/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) ## More by E. V. Lucas > [Every cat is really the most beautiful woman in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/every-cat-is-really-the-most-beautiful-woman-in-the-room/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [The art of life is to show your hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/the-art-of-life-is-to-show-your-hand/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [In betting on races, there are two elements that are never lacking - hope as hope, and an incomplete recollection of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/in-betting-on-races-there-are-two-elements-that-are-never-lacking/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [One of the most adventurous things left us is to go to bed. For no one can lay a hand on our dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/one-of-the-most-adventurous-things-left-us-is-to-go-to-bed-for-no-one/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [Few women and fewer men have enough character to be idle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/few-women-and-fewer-men-have-enough-character-to-be-idle/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [Americans are people who prefer the Continent to their own country, but refuse to learn its languages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/americans-are-people-who-prefer-the-continent-to-their-own-country/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [ Aig \[F.-M. Sir Douglas Haig\] 'e don't say much; 'e don't, so to say, say nothin'; but what 'e don't say don't mean nothin',… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/aig-f-m-sir-douglas-haig-e-don-t-say-much-e-don-t-so-to-say-say/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [There is no diplomacy like candor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/there-is-no-diplomacy-like-candor/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [What kind of life a dog . . . acquires. I have sometimes tried to imagine by kneeling or lying full length on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/what-kind-of-life-a-dog-acquires-i-have-sometimes-tried-to-imagine-by/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [People in hotels strike no roots. The French phrase for chronic hotel guests even says so; they are called dwellers sur la branche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/people-in-hotels-strike-no-roots-the-french-phrase-for-chronic-hotel/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [The noise from good toast should reverberate in the head like the thunder of July.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/the-noise-from-good-toast-should-reverberate-in-the-head-like-the/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [The French never allow a distinguished son of France to lack a statue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/the-french-never-allow-a-distinguished-son-of-france-to-lack-a-statue/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [A horse's eye disquiets me: it has an expression of alarm that may at any moment be translated into action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/a-horse-s-eye-disquiets-me-it-has-an-expression-of-alarm-that-may-at/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [I am a believer in punctuality though it makes me very lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/i-am-a-believer-in-punctuality-though-it-makes-me-very-lonely/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [There are two words for everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/there-are-two-words-for-everything/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) [Explore all 29 E. V. Lucas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) ## 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 > [“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 > [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": "What is literature compared with cooking? The one is shadow, the other is substance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. V. Lucas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking-the-one-is-shadow-the-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking-the-one-is-shadow-the-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/e-v-lucas-21361_books_what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking_1277234.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/e-v-lucas-21361_books_what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking_1277234.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/e-v-lucas-21361_books_what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking_1277234.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is literature compared with cooking? The one is shadow, the other is substance.” — E. V. Lucas", "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": "E. V. Lucas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is literature compared with cooking?...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking-the-one-is-shadow-the-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/what-is-literature-compared-with-cooking-the-one-is-shadow-the-other/#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 } } ] } ```