“The greatness of literature cannot be determined solely by literary standards; though we must remember that whether it is literature or not can be determined only by literary standards.”

Separating aesthetic judgement from broader judgements about a work's ultimate significance · Essay, Religion and Literature

• Art
• Truth

“What we need is not information but knowledge: the first step to knowledge is to recognize the differences between his form of thought and feeling and ours.”

Distinguishing genuine historical understanding from the accumulation of facts · Essay, Dante

• Time
• Truth

“When a Cat adopts you, there is nothing to be done about it except to put up with it and wait until the wind changes.”

A playful observation on the independence of cats and the people they choose · Letter to Polly Tandy, 1937

• Joy
• Nature