"Books, we are told, propose to instruct or to amuse. Indeed! A true antithesis to knowledge, in this case, is not pleasure, but power. All that is literature seeks to communicate power; all that is not literature, to communicate knowledge."
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Source : 'Letters to a Young Man whose Education has been Neglected' no. 3, in the 'London Magazine' January-July 1823. De Quincey adds that he is indebted for this distinction to 'many years' conversation with Mr Wordsworth'
Source : "Tara Lipinski: On Dealing with Stress, Using Failure to Fuel Success, and How she Keeps her Head Clear". Interview with Robert Piper, www.marandapleasantmedia.com.