Who said “A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of…”?

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Edith Hamilton. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceThe Roman Way (1932), Preface

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“A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can.”
— Edith Hamilton
VerifiedThe Roman Way (1932), Preface · evidenceLiterature

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: The Roman Way (1932), Preface.

APA

Hamilton, E. (n.d.). A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/26942-a-peoples-literature-is-the-great-textbook-for/

MLA

Hamilton, Edith. “A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/26942-a-peoples-literature-is-the-great-textbook-for/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Hamilton, Edith. “A people's literature is the great textbook for real knowledge of them. The writings of the day show the quality of the people as no historical reconstruction can.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/26942-a-peoples-literature-is-the-great-textbook-for/.

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“Mind and spirit together make up that which separates us from the rest of the animal world, that which enables a man to know the truth and that which enables him to die for the truth.”
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“There are few efforts more conducive to humility than that of the translator trying to communicate an incommunicable beauty. Yet, unless we do try, something unique and never surpassed will cease to exist except in the libraries of a few inquisitive book lovers.”
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All 8 Edith Hamilton quotes →