Action Quote by Russell Kirk
“The aim of great books is ethical: to teach what it means to be a man. Every major form of literary art has taken for its deeper themes what T.S. Eliot called "the permanent things"-the norms of human action.”
About This Quote
Source Book: "The Conservative Mind" (1953) by Russell Kirk
Great literature teaches moral lessons and enduring human values, reflecting timeless norms of behavior.
In simple terms: Books convey ethical truths and lasting human norms.
Key Takeaway
Read literature to understand moral foundations.
Themes
ethics
literature
human nature
Mood
thoughtful
instructive
Type
philosophical
educational
When to use this quote
- education curricula
- personal development
- cultural criticism
- literary analysis
Key Concepts
moral philosophy
canonical works
Questions to Reflect On
- Which books have shaped your moral outlook?
- How do you discern ethical themes in fiction?
A Different Perspective
Not all great books address ethics directly; some prioritize aesthetics.
![“By “the Permanent Things” [T. S. Eliot] meant those elements in the human condition that give us our nature, without which we are as the beasts that perish. They work upon us all in the sense that both they and we are bound up in that continuity of belief and institution called the great…” quote by Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/904/russell-kirk-6909_culture_by-the-permanent-things-t-s-eliot-meant_716881.jpg)
![“Men are put into this world, he [the enlightened conservative] realizes, to struggle, to suffer, to contend against the evil that is in their neighbors and in themselves, and to aspire toward the triumph of Love. They are put into this world to live like men, and to die like men. He seeks to…” quote by Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8f1/russell-kirk-6909_love_men-are-put-into-this-world-he-the-enlig_208424.jpg)
