Quote #82,795

"Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecuti..." — Lionel Trilling

Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecution, imposes judgment and executes the sentence: all to the end that someone else should not perform the same process.
Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling Critic • American
check_circle Copied to clipboard!

Topics

Legal

More from Lionel Trilling

View All
It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual condition will make us consent to it.
— Lionel Trilling
The poet is in command of his fantasy, while it is exactly the mark of the neurotic that he is possessed by his fantasy.
— Lionel Trilling
It is now life and not art that requires the willing suspension of disbelief.
— Lionel Trilling
The immature artist imitates. Mature artists steal.
— Lionel Trilling