--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Literature is a great staff, but a very…" description: "\"Literature is a great staff, but a very sorry crutch.\" — Walter Scott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/walter-scott-775_books_literature-is-a-great-staff-but-a-very-s_1477660.png" --- # Literature is a great staff, but a very sorry crutch. ![“Literature is a great staff, but a very sorry crutch.” quote by Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/walter-scott-775_books_literature-is-a-great-staff-but-a-very-s_1477660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/walter-scott-775_books_literature-is-a-great-staff-but-a-very-s_1477660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/walter-scott-775_books_literature-is-a-great-staff-but-a-very-s_1477660.png) > “Literature is a great staff, but a very sorry crutch.” [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature can guide and support, but relying on it too much can hinder personal growth. **In simple terms:** Books help, but don’t replace lived experience. Key Takeaway Use reading as a tool, not a crutch. Themes learning self-reliance literature Mood thoughtful reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - education - creative writing - personal development - self‑study Key Concepts critical thinking autonomy reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance reading with doing? - When does literature become a hindrance? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance may limit practical skills and confidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Crutches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crutches/) [Great Staff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-staff-888370/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-great-457812/) [Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry/) [Sorry Crutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry-crutch-5378294/) [Staff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staff/) [Staff Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staff-sorry-5378293/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I've got a great staff and great support system, and I'm going to stick my neck out and do what I always do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-summitt/i-ve-got-a-great-staff-and-great-support-system-and-i-m-going-to/) [Pat Summitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-summitt/) > [I just want to say I owe the whole reds organization a great deal. Great staff top to bottom and I wish those guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dontrelle-willis/i-just-want-to-say-i-owe-the-whole-reds-organization-a-great-deal/) [Dontrelle Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dontrelle-willis/) > [I have a great staff at the church; they protect me and allow me to focus on more of what I do best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-have-a-great-staff-at-the-church-they-protect-me-and-allow-me-to/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [I am looking forward to working with the great staff of Loud & Proud Records, some of whom I worked very closely with during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-portnoy/i-am-looking-forward-to-working-with-the-great-staff-of-loud-proud/) [Mike Portnoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-portnoy/) > [We had a great staff in college, so after I got to the league, I'd already seen stuff I knew. Then it was enhanced,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-reed/we-had-a-great-staff-in-college-so-after-i-got-to-the-league-i-d/) [Ed Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-reed/) > [I didn't find it hard to settle at United because there was a great bunch of players, great staff, and a good atmosphere at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-van-der-sar/i-didn-t-find-it-hard-to-settle-at-united-because-there-was-a-great/) [Edwin van der Sar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-van-der-sar/) > [No one bothered reading the books and understanding - and again, I'm not being high-falutin' about it - but I think our books are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi-arad/no-one-bothered-reading-the-books-and-understanding-and-again-i-m-not/) [Avi Arad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi-arad/) > [Reading is the gateway to so many things that helps makes it possible for seven billion people to live together on one planet. Literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-griffith/reading-is-the-gateway-to-so-many-things-that-helps-makes-it-possible/) [Nicola Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-griffith/) > [“Real literature, great literature, moves people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevien-shaabneh/real-literature-great-literature-moves-people/) [Nevien Shaabneh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevien-shaabneh/) > [I haven't the stature to critique one of our literature's great novels, Tobias; and I'm not one of those who believe The Adventures of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-haven-t-the-stature-to-critique-one-of-our-literature-s-great/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Were I more conversant with literature and its great names, I could go on quoting them ad infinitum and acknowledge my debt for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/were-i-more-conversant-with-literature-and-its-great-names-i-could-go/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [Literature has done great work for feminism - writing and reading are a practice of empathy - and great literature will continue to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/literature-has-done-great-work-for-feminism-writing-and-reading-are-a/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [I love and care about literature, and great writers are our teachers. You're studying their mind when you read their work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-love-and-care-about-literature-and-great-writers-are-our-teachers/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. 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Where, through groves deep and high, Sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/where-shall-the-lover-rest-whom-the-fates-sever-from-his-true-maiden/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [O! many a shaft, at random sent, Finds mark the archer little meant! 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In war, he mounts the warrior's steed; In halls, in gay attire is seen; In hamlets, dances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/in-peace-love-tunes-the-shepherd-s-reed-in-war-he-mounts-the-warrior/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [Honour is a homicide and a bloodspiller, that gangs about making frays in the street; but Credit is a decent honest man, that sits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/honour-is-a-homicide-and-a-bloodspiller-that-gangs-about-making-frays/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“The lovers of the chase say that the hare feels more agony during the pursuit of the greyhounds, than when she is struggling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/the-lovers-of-the-chase-say-that-the-hare-feels-more-agony-during-the/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [I am she, O most bucolical juvenal, under whose charge are placed the milky mothers of the herd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/i-am-she-o-most-bucolical-juvenal-under-whose-charge-are-placed-the/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) [Explore all 372 Walter Scott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) ## 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! 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