--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Literature... is condemned (or…" description: "\"Literature... is condemned (or privileged) to be forever the most rigorous and, consequently, the most reliable of terms in which man names and transfo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88e/paul-de-man-32598_book_literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to_3222884.png" --- # Literature... is condemned (or privileged) to be forever… ![“Literature... is condemned (or privileged) to be forever the most rigorous and, consequently, the most reliable of terms in which man names and transforms himself.” quote by Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88e/paul-de-man-32598_book_literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to_3222884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88e/paul-de-man-32598_book_literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to_3222884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88e/paul-de-man-32598_book_literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to_3222884.png) > “Literature... is condemned (or privileged) to be forever the most rigorous and, consequently, the most reliable of terms in which man names and transforms himself.” [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature is uniquely positioned as the most rigorous and reliable means by which humans define and reinterpret themselves. **In simple terms:** Literature serves as a precise tool for self-definition. Key Takeaway Use literature to explore and reshape identity. Themes self‑definition literary theory language identity philosophy Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal growth - academic study - creative writing - cultural analysis Key Concepts semiotics metafiction Questions to Reflect On - How does literature influence your sense of self? - In what ways can other media complement literary self‑exploration? A Different Perspective Relying solely on literature may overlook lived experience and other expressive forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Mathematics is of two kinds, Rigorous and Physical. The former is Narrow: the latter Bold and Broad. To have to stop to formulate rigorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-heaviside/mathematics-is-of-two-kinds-rigorous-and-physical-the-former-is/) [Oliver Heaviside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-heaviside/) > [Sophie Germain proved to the world that even a woman can accomplish something in the most rigorous and abstract of sciences and for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/sophie-germain-proved-to-the-world-that-even-a-woman-can-accomplish/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [The Marine Corps is supposed to be the toughest and most rigorous of its class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-driver/the-marine-corps-is-supposed-to-be-the-toughest-and-most-rigorous-of/) [Adam Driver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-driver/) > [I engage in the use of game theory. Game theory is a branch of mathematics, and that means, sorry, that even in the study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/i-engage-in-the-use-of-game-theory-game-theory-is-a-branch-of/) [Bruce Bueno de Mesquita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/) > [Is it possible that even happy moments of pleasure never stand up to a rigorous examination? Possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/is-it-possible-that-even-happy-moments-of-pleasure-never-stand-up-to/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [When you tell people you're in history, they give you this pained expression because that was the course they hated in high school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-darnton/when-you-tell-people-you-re-in-history-they-give-you-this-pained/) [Robert Darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-darnton/) > [At the time, my personal research objectives were to provide Keynesian economics with more rigorous foundations and to tighten and elaborate the logic of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tobin/at-the-time-my-personal-research-objectives-were-to-provide-keynesian/) [James Tobin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-tobin/) > [We will also have a more rigorous approach to professional development and managing unsatisfactory performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-weatherill/we-will-also-have-a-more-rigorous-approach-to-professional/) [Jay Weatherill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-weatherill/) > [When I released my first record, I was really in the middle of having made the decision to follow the clinical psychology path, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autre-ne-veut/when-i-released-my-first-record-i-was-really-in-the-middle-of-having/) [Autre Ne Veut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autre-ne-veut/) > [“The most rigorous reading is to find what those words on that page mean in our own lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylene-beers/the-most-rigorous-reading-is-to-find-what-those-words-on-that-page/) Kylene Beers > [Yes, it will go through the disciplines that all puppies go through including house training and puppy walking, then at twelve month old it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/yes-it-will-go-through-the-disciplines-that-all-puppies-go-through/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [“The surgical resident interested in learning trauma will bypass a residency at a quiet community hospital for a residency at a fast-paced Level 1…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-deegan/the-surgical-resident-interested-in-learning-trauma-will-bypass-a/) [Marian Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-deegan/) > [He cannot be vertuous that is not rigorous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-cannot-be-vertuous-that-is-not-rigorous/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I am very rigorous with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brunello-cucinelli/i-am-very-rigorous-with-myself/) [Brunello Cucinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brunello-cucinelli/) > [That was my aspiration, so I was there in a seminary with just boys who were studying to be priests. Pretty rigorous schooling; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jurasik/that-was-my-aspiration-so-i-was-there-in-a-seminary-with-just-boys/) [Peter Jurasik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jurasik/) ## More by Paul de Man > [If one reads too quickly or too slowly, one understands nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/if-one-reads-too-quickly-or-too-slowly-one-understands-nothing/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [Literature exists at the same time in the modes of error and truth; it both betrays and obeys its own mode of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/literature-exists-at-the-same-time-in-the-modes-of-error-and-truth-it/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [Modernity exists in the form of a desire to wipe out whatever came earlier, in the hope of reaching at least a point that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/modernity-exists-in-the-form-of-a-desire-to-wipe-out-whatever-came/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [Metaphors are much more tenacious than facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/metaphors-are-much-more-tenacious-than-facts/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [“...asked by his wife whether he wants to have his bowling shoes laced over or laced under, Archie Bunker answers the question: "What's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/asked-by-his-wife-whether-he-wants-to-have-his-bowling-shoes-laced/) [Paul De Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [What we call ideology is precisely the confusion of linguistic with natural reality, of reference with phenomenalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/what-we-call-ideology-is-precisely-the-confusion-of-linguistic-with/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [“Prior to any generalization about literature, literary texts have to be read, and the possibility of reading can never be taken for granted. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/prior-to-any-generalization-about-literature-literary-texts-have-to/) [Paul De Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [The critical method which denies literary modernity would appear -- and even, in certain respects, would be -- the most modern of critical movements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/the-critical-method-which-denies-literary-modernity-would-appear-and/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [Curiously enough, it seems to be only in describing a mode of language which does not mean what it says that one can actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/curiously-enough-it-seems-to-be-only-in-describing-a-mode-of-language/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [Fashion is like the ashes left behind by the uniquely shaped flames of the fire, the trace alone revealing that a fire actually took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/fashion-is-like-the-ashes-left-behind-by-the-uniquely-shaped-flames/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [Death is a displaced name for a linguistic predicament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/death-is-a-displaced-name-for-a-linguistic-predicament/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [The writer's language is to some degree the product of his own action; he is both the historian and the agent of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/the-writer-s-language-is-to-some-degree-the-product-of-his-own-action/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [“No one in his right mind will try to grow grapes by the luminosity of the word "day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/no-one-in-his-right-mind-will-try-to-grow-grapes-by-the-luminosity-of/) [Paul De Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [The ambivalence of writing is such that it can be considered both an act and an interpretive process that follows after an act with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/the-ambivalence-of-writing-is-such-that-it-can-be-considered-both-an/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) [Explore all 15 Paul de Man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Literature... is condemned (or privileged) to be forever the most rigorous and, consequently, the most reliable of terms in which man names and transforms himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul de Man" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to-be-forever-the-most-rigorous/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to-be-forever-the-most-rigorous/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88e/paul-de-man-32598_book_literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to_3222884.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88e/paul-de-man-32598_book_literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to_3222884.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88e/paul-de-man-32598_book_literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to_3222884.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Literature... is condemned (or privileged) to be forever the most rigorous and, consequently, the most…” — Paul de Man", "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": "Paul de Man", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Literature... is condemned (or privileged) to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to-be-forever-the-most-rigorous/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/literature-is-condemned-or-privileged-to-be-forever-the-most-rigorous/#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 } } ] } ```