Almanac: V.S. Pritchett on the permanence of the classics
"I say 'the great literature' not because of its aura of cultural strenuousness, but simply because, in the past, there is only great literature. Only the great stands the racket of time and survives from generation to generation; the rest dies for lack of staying power." V.S. Pritchett, My Good Books (courtesy of Patrick Kurp)