--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good books are irrefutable, and bad books…" description: "\"Good books are irrefutable, and bad books refute themselves.\" — Remy de Gourmont" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/remy-de-gourmont-7554_book_good-books-are-irrefutable-and-bad-books_2940078.jpg" --- # Good books are irrefutable, and bad books refute themselves. ![“Good books are irrefutable, and bad books refute themselves.” quote by Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/remy-de-gourmont-7554_book_good-books-are-irrefutable-and-bad-books_2940078.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/remy-de-gourmont-7554_book_good-books-are-irrefutable-and-bad-books_2940078.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/126/remy-de-gourmont-7554_book_good-books-are-irrefutable-and-bad-books_2940078.jpg) > “Good books are irrefutable, and bad books refute themselves.” [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A good book stands firm in its truth, while a bad book collapses under its own contradictions. **In simple terms:** Good books are solid; bad books fall apart. Key Takeaway Seek works that challenge and endure. Themes literature truth critique Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - choosing reading material - academic analysis - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - What criteria do you use to judge a book's value? - How do you handle contradictory opinions on literature? A Different Perspective A book may be good to one reader but bad to another. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Good book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-book/) ## Related quotes > [Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/reading-good-books-ruins-you-for-enjoying-bad-books/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [As always, a lot of bad books will be published. Some good books will be published, and you have to seek them out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/as-always-a-lot-of-bad-books-will-be-published-some-good-books-will/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Good books get praised, bad books get praised. Good books get ignored, bad books get ignored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-books-get-praised-bad-books-get-praised-good-books-get-ignored/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bad books engender bad habits, but bad habits engender good books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/bad-books-engender-bad-habits-but-bad-habits-engender-good-books/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“All books are good,’ he said. ‘That’s not true,’ I said. ‘I’ve read some really bad books.’ I was thinking specifically of Anne of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-jewell/all-books-are-good-he-said-that-s-not-true-i-said-i-ve-read-some/) [Lisa Jewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-jewell/) > [There are no bad books any more than there are ugly women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/there-are-no-bad-books-any-more-than-there-are-ugly-women/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [There is a sort of theory that you should adapt bad books because they always make more successful films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/there-is-a-sort-of-theory-that-you-should-adapt-bad-books-because/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [“Life is too short to waste your time with bad books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kr-ger/life-is-too-short-to-waste-your-time-with-bad-books/) Michael Krüger > [“Never read books you aren't sure about . . . even supposing that these bad books are very well written from a literary point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-don-bosco/never-read-books-you-aren-t-sure-about-even-supposing-that-these-bad/) Saint John Don Bosco > [“I read a lot of bad books- books so bad that they aren't even published,which is quite a feat, when you consider what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/i-read-a-lot-of-bad-books-books-so-bad-that-they-aren-t-even/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [The books one reads in childhood, and perhaps most of all the bad and good bad books, create in one's mind a sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-books-one-reads-in-childhood-and-perhaps-most-of-all-the-bad-and-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Many bad books have had great influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/many-bad-books-have-had-great-influence/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [It is far better to be silent than merely to increase the quantity of bad books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-far-better-to-be-silent-than-merely-to-increase-the-quantity-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Even the bad books I write are satisfying. 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She loves it, & that's all. It is thus that we should love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/the-little-girl-expects-no-declaration-of-tenderness-from-her-doll/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [Science is the only truth and it is the great lie. It knows nothing, and people think it knows everything. It is misrepresented. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/science-is-the-only-truth-and-it-is-the-great-lie-it-knows-nothing/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [“Those men who live with the greatest intensity are often the ones who seem to take least interest in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/those-men-who-live-with-the-greatest-intensity-are-often-the-ones-who/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [“The man of genius may dwell unknown, but one always may recognize the path he has followed into the forest. 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