--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the present day, when popular…" description: "\"“In the present day, when popular literature is running into the low levels of life, and luxuriating on the vices and follies of mankind; and when the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/washington-irving-1386_books_in-the-present-day-when-popular-literatu_2719791.png" --- # In the present day, when popular literature is running… ![“In the present day, when popular literature is running into the low levels of life, and luxuriating on the vices and follies of mankind; and when the universal pursuit of gain is trampling down the early growth of poetic feeling, and wearing out the verdure of the soul, I question whether it would…” quote by Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/washington-irving-1386_books_in-the-present-day-when-popular-literatu_2719791.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/washington-irving-1386_books_in-the-present-day-when-popular-literatu_2719791.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/washington-irving-1386_books_in-the-present-day-when-popular-literatu_2719791.png) > ““In the present day, when popular literature is running into the low levels of life, and luxuriating on the vices and follies of mankind; and when the universal pursuit of gain is trampling down the early growth of poetic feeling, and wearing out the verdure of the soul, I question whether it would not be of service for the reader occasionally to turn to these records of prouder times and loftier modes of thinking; and to steep himself to the very lips in old Spanish romance.”” [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author laments modern literature’s decline, urging readers to revisit classic, lofty works for spiritual enrichment. **In simple terms:** Modern writing is shallow; look back to great old works for depth. Key Takeaway Read classics to revive poetic feeling. Themes culture literature spirituality Mood reflective nostalgic Type essay philosophical When to use this quote - school curricula - personal reading - literary clubs - academic research Key Concepts decline of taste nostalgia educational value Questions to Reflect On - What can old literature teach today? - How to balance old and new? A Different Perspective Classic works may not address contemporary issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Levels of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels-of-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-running-2873648/) [Low level](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low-level/) [Luxuriating Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxuriating-vices-2873646/) [Poetic Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic-feeling-2873645/) [Popular literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-literature/) [Present day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-day/) [Reader Occasionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-occasionally-2873647/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Spain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spain/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The world of scholarship is much more measured in its appreciation and also its criticism than the world of popular literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/the-world-of-scholarship-is-much-more-measured-in-its-appreciation/) [Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/) > [All great popular literature today one day will be seen as great literature and will no longer be seen as popular literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/all-great-popular-literature-today-one-day-will-be-seen-as-great/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Over the years, I began to understand that there were a lot of people out there reading physics in popular literature that they could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-susskind/over-the-years-i-began-to-understand-that-there-were-a-lot-of-people/) [Leonard Susskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-susskind/) > [PLATITUDE, n. The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. All that is mortal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/platitude-n-the-fundamental-element-and-special-glory-of-popular-2/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factorites, whose lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/control-in-modern-times-requires-more-than-force-more-than-law-it-2/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“PLATITUDE, n. The fundamental element and special glory of popular literature. A thought that snores in words that smoke. The wisdom of a million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/platitude-n-the-fundamental-element-and-special-glory-of-popular/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Popular literature and culture used to reflect people's aspirations, pain, and passion. All those particular things are no longer available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/popular-literature-and-culture-used-to-reflect-people-s-aspirations/) [Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/) > [Korean feminism is on the brink of death. 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Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Regardless of where you started, there is always the next level. You need to keep leveling up your skills.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustafa-saifuddin/regardless-of-where-you-started-there-is-always-the-next-level-you/) [Mustafa Saifuddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustafa-saifuddin/) > [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More by Washington Irving > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who have flourished their allotted time; otherwise, the creative powers of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/language-gradually-varies-and-with-it-fade-away-the-writings-of/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A woman's life is a history of the affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Over no nation does the press hold a more absolute control than over the people of America, for the universal education of the poorest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/over-no-nation-does-the-press-hold-a-more-absolute-control-than-over/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I have never found, in anything outside of the four walls of my study, an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/i-have-never-found-in-anything-outside-of-the-four-walls-of-my-study/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is no character in the comedy of human life more difficult to play well than that of an old bachelor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-no-character-in-the-comedy-of-human-life-more-difficult-to/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [He who thinks much says but little in proportion to his thoughts. He selects that language which will convey his ideas in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/he-who-thinks-much-says-but-little-in-proportion-to-his-thoughts-he/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Redundancy of language is never found with deep reflection. Verbiage may indicate observation, but not thinking. He who thinks much says but little in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/redundancy-of-language-is-never-found-with-deep-reflection-verbiage/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [History fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription molders from the tablet: the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/history-fades-into-fable-fact-becomes-clouded-with-doubt-and/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is a majestic grandeur in tranquillity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-a-majestic-grandeur-in-tranquillity/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-rise-authors-now-and-then-who-seem-proof-against-the-mutability/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [There is nothing in England that exercises a more delightful spell over my imagination than the lingerings of the holiday customs and rural games…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/there-is-nothing-in-england-that-exercises-a-more-delightful-spell/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [It is but seldom that any one overt act produces hostilities between two nations; there exists, more commonly, a previous jealousy and ill will,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/it-is-but-seldom-that-any-one-overt-act-produces-hostilities-between/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) [Explore all 244 Washington Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) ## 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. 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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. 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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": "“In the present day, when popular literature is running into the low levels of life, and luxuriating on the vices and follies of mankind; and when the universal pursuit of gain is trampling down the early growth of poetic feeling, and wearing out the verdure of the soul, I question whether it would not be of service for the reader occasionally to turn to these records of prouder times and loftier modes of thinking; and to steep himself to the very lips in old Spanish romance.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Washington Irving" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/in-the-present-day-when-popular-literature-is-running-into-the-low/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/in-the-present-day-when-popular-literature-is-running-into-the-low/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/washington-irving-1386_books_in-the-present-day-when-popular-literatu_2719791.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/washington-irving-1386_books_in-the-present-day-when-popular-literatu_2719791.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/washington-irving-1386_books_in-the-present-day-when-popular-literatu_2719791.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the present day, when popular literature is running into the low levels of life, and luxuriating on the…” — Washington Irving", "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": "Washington Irving", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In the present day, when popular...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/in-the-present-day-when-popular-literature-is-running-into-the-low/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/in-the-present-day-when-popular-literature-is-running-into-the-low/#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 } } ] } ```