--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A classic is the term given to any book…" description: "\"A classic is the term given to any book which comes to represent the whole universe, a book on a par with ancient talismans.\" — Italo Calvino" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/italo-calvino-402_ancient_a-classic-is-the-term-given-to-any-book_1645706.jpg" --- # A classic is the term given to any book which comes to… ![“A classic is the term given to any book which comes to represent the whole universe, a book on a par with ancient talismans.” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/italo-calvino-402_ancient_a-classic-is-the-term-given-to-any-book_1645706.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/italo-calvino-402_ancient_a-classic-is-the-term-given-to-any-book_1645706.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/italo-calvino-402_ancient_a-classic-is-the-term-given-to-any-book_1645706.jpg) > “A classic is the term given to any book which comes to represent the whole universe, a book on a par with ancient talismans.” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A “classic” is a work that encapsulates universal truths, akin to ancient talismans. **In simple terms:** Classics capture timeless, universal ideas. Key Takeaway Seek works that resonate across cultures and eras. Themes literature timelessness universal truth canon Mood reflective intellectual Type literary educational When to use this quote - education - reading - teaching - creative inspiration Key Concepts philosophy cultural studies null Questions to Reflect On - Which classic feels most relevant today? - How do you define a universal truth? A Different Perspective Not all classics remain relevant to modern audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Talismans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talismans/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Love is the religion, and the universe is the book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/love-is-the-religion-and-the-universe-is-the-book/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [About seven years later I was given a book about the periodic table of the elements. For the first time I saw the elegance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-altman/about-seven-years-later-i-was-given-a-book-about-the-periodic-table/) [Sidney Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-altman/) > [ “What exactly is it you'd like to know? \[the book store manager asked\]. He had an odd expression, like he was asking her a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-mcmahon/what-exactly-is-it-you-d-like-to-know-the-book-store-manager-asked-he/) [Jennifer McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-mcmahon/) > [Most people do not pay attention to the publisher's imprint on a given book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dean/most-people-do-not-pay-attention-to-the-publisher-s-imprint-on-a/) [Michelle Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dean/) > [“If you were given a book with the story of your life, would you read the end?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonimus/if-you-were-given-a-book-with-the-story-of-your-life-would-you-read/) Anonimus > [“For me, books were not the containers of words so much as the words themselves, and the value of a given book was determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/for-me-books-were-not-the-containers-of-words-so-much-as-the-words/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/a-classic-is-a-book-that-has-never-finished-saying-what-it-has-to-say/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Every childhood has its talismans, the sacred objects that look innocuous enough to the outside world, but that trigger an onslaught of vivid memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/every-childhood-has-its-talismans-the-sacred-objects-that-look/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [In ancient days, Deltora was divided into seven tribes. 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The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. 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"With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/your-case-gives-me-new-hope-i-said-to-him-with-me-more-and-more-often/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [We could say, then, that man is an instrument the world employs to renew its own image constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/we-could-say-then-that-man-is-an-instrument-the-world-employs-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Perhaps it is this story that is a bridge over the void, and as it advances it flings forward news and sensations and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/perhaps-it-is-this-story-that-is-a-bridge-over-the-void-and-as-it/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Yet, even now, ever time (often) that I find that I don't understand something, then instinctively, I'm filled with the hope that perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/yet-even-now-ever-time-often-that-i-find-that-i-don-t-understand/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) [Explore all 468 Italo Calvino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. 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I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. 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