Erudition Quotations

Let's face it: professing a deep interest in movies, the absolutely dominant global art form of the last century, is at this point like professing an interest in air. Passion is nice. Erudition is admirable. But it's like that moment when good manners cross over into meaningless etiquette.

You have overburdened your argument with ostentatious erudition." Spoken by Abigail Adams

In the old days of literature, only the very thick-skinned - or the very brilliant - dared enter the arena of literary criticism. To criticise a person's work required equal measures of erudition and wit, and inferior critics were often the butt of satire and ridicule.

A poet's cultural baggage and erudition can interfere with a poem.

I chose the name Langdon for a combination of reasons. The name first occurred to me as a tribute to one of my favorite artists, John Langdon, who not entirely coincidentally is a passionate art-lover and a teacher like Robert Langdon. I also like the way his name sounds; all of my heroes have two syllabus names for reasons of rhythm. In addition, the name Langdon is an old New England family name that carries with it an air of erudition and academia, which works nicely for a Harvard professor.

If I wanted to be Rimbaud, what was I doing in graduate school? Trying to stay out of the army, of course. Graduate study gave me a draft deferment. But I also knew I lacked erudition and polish and was often sunk in forlorn reveries.