[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$flR3GK2Pn_c4sHhYdghC4ncc5GcIEg1CEP6SLLDuDYTo":3,"$fuaYvADcp7i2wvPc3tinAXv75hrY7lD6d7abaWBiMMyw":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},21015,"Van Wyck Brooks","V",30,null,"van-wyck-brooks",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":108},[14,23,31,37,43,55,66,75,86,97],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":22},3986851,"The American mind, unlike the English, is not formed by books, but, as Carl Sandburg once said to me... by newspapers and the Bible.",7,true,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nVan Wyck Brooks, an American literary critic and historian, penned these words likely during the 1930s, a time when America was undergoing significant cultural and societal changes. Brooks' own life's work was deeply invested in understanding the American character and its relationship to literature. This quote would have been part of his ongoing exploration into the sources that shape American identity.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals an intriguing paradox: while it suggests a reliance on popular, mass media (newspapers) as a formative influence, it does so by invoking the sacred text of the Bible, implying a deeper, more profound impact. This juxtaposition highlights Brooks' observation that American culture is shaped by both a democratic impulse and a more fundamental, spiritual dimension.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this insight today, consider the dual role of media in shaping your work: balance attention to popular trends with a commitment to exploring deeper, often overlooked themes and sources. For creatives, this might involve engaging with mass media as a starting point for research, while also cultivating a personal vision that transcends immediate cultural currents.",{"id":24,"quote_text":25,"author_id":5,"source_id":26,"has_image":27,"author":28,"source":29,"quote_tag":30,"commentary":9},3492944,"There is no stopping the world’s tendency to throw off imposed restraints, the religious authority that is based on the ignorance of the many, the political authority that is based on the knowledge of the few.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":32,"quote_text":33,"author_id":5,"source_id":26,"has_image":27,"author":34,"source":35,"quote_tag":36,"commentary":9},3492932,"No one in this country has any root anywhere; we don’t live in America, we board here, we are like spiders that run over the surface of the water.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":38,"quote_text":39,"author_id":5,"source_id":26,"has_image":27,"author":40,"source":41,"quote_tag":42,"commentary":9},3492875,"How delightful is the company of generous people, who overlook trifles and keep their minds instinctively fixed on whatever is good and positive in the world around them.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":44,"quote_text":45,"author_id":5,"source_id":46,"has_image":27,"author":47,"source":48,"quote_tag":49,"commentary":9},1134360,"How delightful is the company of generous people, who overlook trifles and keep their minds instinctively fixed on whatever is good and positive in the world about them. People of small caliber are always carping. They are bent on showing their own superiority, their knowledge or prowess or good breeding. But magnanimous people have no vanity, they have no jealousy, and they feed on the true and the solid wherever they find it. And what is more, they find it everywhere.",4,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[50],{"id":51,"tag":52},4134192,{"id":53,"tag_name":54},96,"motivational",{"id":56,"quote_text":57,"author_id":5,"source_id":46,"has_image":27,"author":58,"source":59,"quote_tag":60,"commentary":9},1134350,"No man should ever publish a book until he has first read it to a woman.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[61],{"id":62,"tag":63},4134183,{"id":64,"tag_name":65},326,"men",{"id":67,"quote_text":68,"author_id":5,"source_id":46,"has_image":27,"author":69,"source":70,"quote_tag":71,"commentary":9},1134342,"The instructed man is ashamed to pronounce in an Orphic manner what everybody knows, and because he is silent people think he is making fun of them.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[72],{"id":73,"tag":74},4134172,{"id":64,"tag_name":65},{"id":76,"quote_text":77,"author_id":5,"source_id":46,"has_image":27,"author":78,"source":79,"quote_tag":80,"commentary":9},1134332,"No one in this country has any root anywhere; we don't live in America, we board here, we are like spiders that run over the surface of the water.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[81],{"id":82,"tag":83},4134166,{"id":84,"tag_name":85},692,"running",{"id":87,"quote_text":88,"author_id":5,"source_id":46,"has_image":27,"author":89,"source":90,"quote_tag":91,"commentary":9},1134319,"Longfellow is to poetry what the barrel-organ is to music.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[92],{"id":93,"tag":94},4134153,{"id":95,"tag_name":96},55327,"barrels",{"id":98,"quote_text":99,"author_id":5,"source_id":46,"has_image":27,"author":100,"source":101,"quote_tag":102,"commentary":9},1134310,"Better the fragrant herb of wit and a little cream of affability than all the pretty cups in the world.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[103],{"id":104,"tag":105},4134142,{"id":106,"tag_name":107},290304,"littles",{"currentPage":109,"totalPages":110,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":111},1,3,10]