"Does there, I wonder, exist a being who has read all, or approximately all, that the person of average culture is supposed to have read, and that not to have read is a social sin? If such a being does exist, surely he is an old, a very old man."

Arnold Bennett Literature See all quotes by Arnold Bennett →

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“The price of justice is eternal publicity.”

“A prig is a pompous fool who has gone out for a ceremonial walk, and without knowing it has lost an important part of his attire, namely, his sense of humour.”

“Journalists say a thing that they know isn't true, in the hope that if they keep on saying it long enough it will be true.”

“A cause may be inconvenient, but it's magnificent. It's like champagne or high heels, and one must be prepared to suffer for it.”

“Yes books are valuable. But not reading of books will take the place of a daily, candid, honest examination of what one has recently done, and what one is about to do - of a steady looking at one's self in the face .”

“Being a husband is a whole-time job. That is why so many husbands fail. They can't give their entire attention to it.”

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