“In science, read, by preference, the newest works; in literature, the oldest.”

— Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Caxtoniana (1863), "Hints on Mental Culture"

About Edward Bulwer-Lytton

1803 – 1873

English novelist and politician, author of "The Last Days of Pompeii".

“All doubt is cowardice—all trust is brave.”

“Life, that ever needs forgiveness, has, for its first duty, to forgive.”

“Master books, but do not let them master you. Read to live, not live to read.”

“For his heart was in his work, and the heart giveth grace unto every Art.”

“The poet shall not spend his time in unneeded work.”

“We need not be artists, but we should be able to appreciate the work of artists.”

“A work of art is good if it has grown out of necessity.”

“Works of art are of an infinite solitude, and no means of approach is so useless as criticism.”

“He is the greatest artist who has embodied, in the sum of his works, the greatest number of the greatest ideas.”