--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When once the itch of literature comes…" description: "\"When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen.\" — Samuel Lover" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/samuel-lover-25986_books_when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-o_459932.jpg" --- # When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing… ![“When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen.” quote by Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/samuel-lover-25986_books_when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-o_459932.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/samuel-lover-25986_books_when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-o_459932.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/samuel-lover-25986_books_when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-o_459932.jpg) > “When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen.” [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature creates an irresistible urge to write, and only writing can satisfy it. **In simple terms:** Writing cures the itch for literature. Key Takeaway Write to satisfy literary cravings. Themes creativity writing literature Mood reflective inspired Type literary motivational When to use this quote - authoring - journaling - creative projects - academic writing Key Concepts artistic expression compulsion Questions to Reflect On - What drives your urge to write? - How does writing relieve creative tension? A Different Perspective Writing may not address underlying dissatisfaction beyond the act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) ## Related quotes > [When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen. But if you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-over-a-man-nothing-can-cure-it-2/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [Sex is ... scratching an itch Everything else is something we project on a very simple act. It's the psychology, not the biology, that's complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-browne/sex-is-scratching-an-itch-everything-else-is-something-we-project-on/) [Joy Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-browne/) > [“Kissing a girl because she lets you is like scratching a place that doesn't itch!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-e-neuman/kissing-a-girl-because-she-lets-you-is-like-scratching-a-place-that/) [Alfred E. Neuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-e-neuman/) > [“Because scratching this particular itch would only spread it. This isn’t a bug bite. This is poison ivy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-locke/because-scratching-this-particular-itch-would-only-spread-it-this-isn/) [Adriana Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-locke/) > [“Hilarity keeps you busy for several blocks, but there’s a sickness to it, like an itch that if you keep on scratching, will grind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/hilarity-keeps-you-busy-for-several-blocks-but-there-s-a-sickness-to/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Writing is a bitch. It's an itch that I love to scratch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-claudia-antunes/writing-is-a-bitch-it-s-an-itch-that-i-love-to-scratch/) [Ana Claudia Antunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-claudia-antunes/) > [“Itchy fingers scratching keys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazz-feylynn/itchy-fingers-scratching-keys/) [Jazz Feylynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazz-feylynn/) > [Scratching could not make it worse. . . such a face as yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/scratching-could-not-make-it-worse-such-a-face-as-yours/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Scratching could not make it worse, an't were such a face as yours were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/scratching-could-not-make-it-worse-an-t-were-such-a-face-as-yours-were/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Scratching people where they itch and addressing their 'felt needs' is a stratagem of the poor steward of the oracles of God. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/scratching-people-where-they-itch-and-addressing-their-felt-needs-is/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“I stitched an itch to my side. As far as surgeries go, I’m just barely scratching the surface.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-stitched-an-itch-to-my-side-as-far-as-surgeries-go-i-m-just-barely/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Why, you may ask, take on this unpleasant, frightening subject? Why stare into the sun? Why not follow the advice of the venerable dean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/why-you-may-ask-take-on-this-unpleasant-frightening-subject-why-stare/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Christian literature comes from Christian novelists and dramatists - not from the bench of bishops getting together and trying to write plays and novels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/christian-literature-comes-from-christian-novelists-and-dramatists/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [This is a great mind at work examining itself. This is where literature comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-weber/this-is-a-great-mind-at-work-examining-itself-this-is-where/) [Katharine Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-weber/) > [All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-modern-american-literature-comes-from-one-book-by-mark-twain/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More by Samuel Lover > [Sure the shovel and tongs To each other belongs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/sure-the-shovel-and-tongs-to-each-other-belongs/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [But all husbands are geese, though our pride it may shock, From the first 'twas ordained so by Nature I fear; Ould Adam himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/but-all-husbands-are-geese-though-our-pride-it-may-shock-from-the/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [For dhrames always go by conthraries, my dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/for-dhrames-always-go-by-conthraries-my-dear/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [To return after long years of painful absence to some place which has been the scene of our former joys, and whence the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/to-return-after-long-years-of-painful-absence-to-some-place-which-has/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [Oh, happy triumph of the poet! - to hear his verses wedded to sweet sounds, and warbled by the woman he loves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/oh-happy-triumph-of-the-poet-to-hear-his-verses-wedded-to-sweet/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [What is wine? It is the grape present in another form; its essence is there, though the fruit which produced it grew thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/what-is-wine-it-is-the-grape-present-in-another-form-its-essence-is/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [Sure my love is all crostLike a bud in the frostAnd there's no use at all in my going to bed,For 't is dhrames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/sure-my-love-is-all-crostlike-a-bud-in-the-frostand-there-s-no-use-at/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [For a ballad's a thing you expect to find lies in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/for-a-ballad-s-a-thing-you-expect-to-find-lies-in/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [There's luck in odd numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/there-s-luck-in-odd-numbers/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [My hearing has suffered seriously; just now I am obliged to have the assistance of an ear trumpet. Think of that, my beauty! -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/my-hearing-has-suffered-seriously-just-now-i-am-obliged-to-have-the/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [Better to be safe than sorry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/better-to-be-safe-than-sorry/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [Reproof on her lip, but a smile in her eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/reproof-on-her-lip-but-a-smile-in-her-eye/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [Circumstances are the rulers of the weak; they are but the instruments of the wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/circumstances-are-the-rulers-of-the-weak-they-are-but-the-instruments/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [There was a place in childhood that I remember well, And there a voice of sweetest tone bright fairy tales did tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/there-was-a-place-in-childhood-that-i-remember-well-and-there-a-voice/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen. But if you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-over-a-man-nothing-can-cure-it-2/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) [Explore all 22 Samuel Lover quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) ## 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": "When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Lover" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-over-a-man-nothing-can-cure-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-over-a-man-nothing-can-cure-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/samuel-lover-25986_books_when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-o_459932.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/samuel-lover-25986_books_when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-o_459932.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/samuel-lover-25986_books_when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-o_459932.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen.” — Samuel Lover", "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": "Samuel Lover", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When once the itch of literature...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-over-a-man-nothing-can-cure-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/when-once-the-itch-of-literature-comes-over-a-man-nothing-can-cure-it/#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 } } ] } ```