The two most common charges against the older fiction, that it pleased wickedly and that it taught nothing, had broken down before the discovery, except in illiberal sects, that the novel is fitted both for honest use and for pleasure.


The American Novel 1789-1939 (ed. 1956)

Carl Van Doren Quotes

The two most common charges against the older fiction, that it pleased wickedly and that it taught nothing, had broken down before the discovery,...

The two most common charges against the older fiction, that it pleased wickedly and that it taught nothing, had broken down before the discovery,...

The two most common charges against the older fiction, that it pleased wickedly and that it taught nothing, had broken down before the discovery,...

The two most common charges against the older fiction, that it pleased wickedly and that it taught nothing, had broken down before the discovery,...