--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All good Literature rests primarily on…" description: "\"All good Literature rests primarily on insight.\" — George Henry Lewes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/george-henry-lewes-4544_books_all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-i_3099514.jpg" --- # All good Literature rests primarily on insight. ![“All good Literature rests primarily on insight.” quote by George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/george-henry-lewes-4544_books_all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-i_3099514.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/george-henry-lewes-4544_books_all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-i_3099514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/george-henry-lewes-4544_books_all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-i_3099514.jpg) > “All good Literature rests primarily on insight.” [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature achieves lasting value when it offers deep understanding rather than mere entertainment. **In simple terms:** Great writing reveals insight. Key Takeaway Seek depth in reading and writing. Themes literature insight value art culture Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - academic study - creative writing - book clubs - teaching literature Key Concepts philosophy aesthetics critical analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does insight differ from knowledge? - What makes a work insightful? A Different Perspective Insight can be subjective and may not resonate with all audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Good literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-literature/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Science is not just there for technology. It's part of what addressing who you are in the universe and understanding your place in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-m-krauss/science-is-not-just-there-for-technology-it-s-part-of-what-addressing/) [Lawrence M. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-m-krauss/) > [Reading good literature is an experience of pleasure...but it is also an experience of learning what and how we are, in our human integrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/reading-good-literature-is-an-experience-of-pleasure-but-it-is-also/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Isn't connecting people to distant lands and culture one of the strengths of good literature?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/isn-t-connecting-people-to-distant-lands-and-culture-one-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I don't know anything that mars a good literature so completely as too much truth. Facts contain a great deal of poetry, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-don-t-know-anything-that-mars-a-good-literature-so-completely-as/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think any good literature, whether it's for children or for adults, will appeal to everybody. As far as children's literature goes, adults should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/i-think-any-good-literature-whether-it-s-for-children-or-for-adults/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [Most of the really good literature I've read in my life was political, meaning it was important - about something going on in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/most-of-the-really-good-literature-i-ve-read-in-my-life-was-political/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“In one sense at any rate it is more valuable to read bad literature than good literature. Good literature may tell us the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/in-one-sense-at-any-rate-it-is-more-valuable-to-read-bad-literature/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Really good literature is seldom appreciated in its own day. The best authors die poor, the bad ones make money - it's always been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-moers/really-good-literature-is-seldom-appreciated-in-its-own-day-the-best/) [Walter Moers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-moers/) > [“Good literature is a mirror through which we see ourselves more clearly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/good-literature-is-a-mirror-through-which-we-see-ourselves-more/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [Any literature, when it arrives at being good literature, transcends genre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanna-bonta/any-literature-when-it-arrives-at-being-good-literature-transcends/) [Vanna Bonta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanna-bonta/) > [The age was still dark and reeked of the havoc and misfortunes of the Goths who had put all good literature to destruction. But,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/the-age-was-still-dark-and-reeked-of-the-havoc-and-misfortunes-of-the/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Never too late to learn a language. And the good literature to come with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-a-stani-i/never-too-late-to-learn-a-language-and-the-good-literature-to-come/) [Sasa Stanisic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-a-stani-i/) > [“People don't say what they mean very often. You have to read between the lines of their behavior, of what they say, to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/people-don-t-say-what-they-mean-very-often-you-have-to-read-between/) [M.C. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-frank/) > [“WARNING: Brain dribble from a writer could cause good literature for the reader.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brick-marlin/warning-brain-dribble-from-a-writer-could-cause-good-literature-for/) Brick Marlin > [Christ and the life of Christ is at this moment inspiring the literature of the world as never before, and raising it up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/christ-and-the-life-of-christ-is-at-this-moment-inspiring-the/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) ## More by George Henry Lewes > [Heart and Brain are the two lords of life. In the metaphors of ordinary speech and in the stricter language of science, we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/heart-and-brain-are-the-two-lords-of-life-in-the-metaphors-of/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [It is unhappily true that much insincere Literature and Art, executed solely with a view to effect, does succeed by deceiving the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/it-is-unhappily-true-that-much-insincere-literature-and-art-executed/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [I have always considered The Merry Wives one of the worst plays, if not altogether the worst, that Shakespeare has left us. The wit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/i-have-always-considered-the-merry-wives-one-of-the-worst-plays-if/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Literature is at once the cause and the effect of social progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/literature-is-at-once-the-cause-and-the-effect-of-social-progress/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Science is the systematic classification of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/science-is-the-systematic-classification-of-experience/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [In complex trains of thought signs are indispensable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/in-complex-trains-of-thought-signs-are-indispensable/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Literature is at once the cause and the effect of social progress. It deepens our natural sensibilities, and strengthens by exercise our intellectual capacities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/literature-is-at-once-the-cause-and-the-effect-of-social-progress-it/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [If you feel yourself to be above the mass, speak so as to raise the mass to the height of your argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/if-you-feel-yourself-to-be-above-the-mass-speak-so-as-to-raise-the/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [The artist is called a creator...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/the-artist-is-called-a-creator/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [To some men popularity is always suspicious. Enjoying none themselves, they are prone to suspect the validity of those attainments which command it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/to-some-men-popularity-is-always-suspicious-enjoying-none-themselves/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [The art of writing is not, as many seem to imagine, the art of bringing fine phrases into rhythmical order, but the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/the-art-of-writing-is-not-as-many-seem-to-imagine-the-art-of-bringing/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Literature delivers tidings of the world within and the world without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/literature-delivers-tidings-of-the-world-within-and-the-world-without/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [If the members of a class do not understand -- if those directly addressed fail to listen, or listening, fail to recognize a power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/if-the-members-of-a-class-do-not-understand-if-those-directly/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [No man was ever eloquent by trying to be eloquent, but only by being so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/no-man-was-ever-eloquent-by-trying-to-be-eloquent-but-only-by-being-so/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [To love is for the Soul to choose a companion, and travel with it along the perilous defiles and winding ways of life; mutually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/to-love-is-for-the-soul-to-choose-a-companion-and-travel-with-it/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) [Explore all 109 George Henry Lewes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) ## 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": "All good Literature rests primarily on insight.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Henry Lewes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-insight/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-insight/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/george-henry-lewes-4544_books_all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-i_3099514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/george-henry-lewes-4544_books_all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-i_3099514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/george-henry-lewes-4544_books_all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-i_3099514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All good Literature rests primarily on insight.” — George Henry Lewes", "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": "George Henry Lewes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All good Literature rests primarily on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-insight/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/all-good-literature-rests-primarily-on-insight/#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 } } ] } ```