Master Books, But Do Not Let Them Master You. Read To Live, Not Live To Read

Creator: Edward Bulwer-Lytton, popular and prolific English writer Context: Bulwer-Lytton wrote on this theme in 1848 within his novel “The Caxtons” which was serialized in “Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine”. A character in the story employed antimetabole cleverly when imparting guidance. Emphasis added to excerpt:[1]1848 May, Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 63, Number 391, The Caxtons, Part II, …

Quote Origin: A Good Teacher Is Like a Candle that Consumes Itself While Lighting the Way for Others

Giovanni Ruffini? Mustafa Kemal Atatürk? Charles Wiseman? Edward Bulwer-Lytton? Emir Abdelkader? Henry Ward Beecher? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Being a teacher is wonderfully fulfilling, but it is also exhausting. The following astute simile reflects this tension: A teacher is like a candle that consumes itself to light the way for others. This saying has …

Read In Order To Live

Gustave Flaubert? Edward Bulwer-Lytton? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent French literary figure Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, placed great value on reading. The following statement is often attributed to him: Read in order to live. Would you please determine whether these words are apocryphal? Quote Investigator: In 1867 Gustave Flaubert wrote a letter …