“I hate brandy… it stinks of modern literature.”

“The most sensible thing to do to people you hate is to drink their brandy.”

Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) British-American actress

“hate has no literature: real fear and real hate have no words”

Gregory David Roberts book Shantaram

“In science, read, by preference the newest works; in literature, the oldest. The classic literature is always modern.”

Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873) English novelist, poet, playwright, and politician

“In theory it was, around now, Literature. Susan hated Literature. She'd much prefer to read a good book.”

Terry Pratchett book Soul Music

“I hate vulgar realism in literature. The man who would call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one.”

Oscar Wilde book The Picture of Dorian Gray

“It's an absurd error to put modern English literature in the curriculum. You should read contemporary literature for pleasure or not at all. You shouldn't be taught to monkey with it.”

Rebecca West (1892–1983) British feminist and author

“A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”

James I of England (1566–1625) king during union of English and Scottish crowns

“Whoever wants to be a hero ought to drink brandy.”

André Maurois (1885–1967) French writer

“Sanity — that is the great virtue of the ancient literature; the want of that is the great defect of the modern, in spite of its variety and power.”

Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools