PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE have been opposed
to each other as often as they have been combined. There
is one tradition, stemming from Plato, in which literature
is contrasted with philosophy as falsehood is with truth.
Another tradition, deriving from Aristotle, has it that,
although literature does not constitute a realm of false-
hood, it is, at its best, only truth second hand. Better
than
history, perhaps, literature yet remains lower than philos-
ophy in the hierarchy of man's achievements.

Literary critics have never received kindly this tradi-
tional censure of literature. While some have defended
literature on moral grounds, other critics have pointed to
the limitations inherent in the abstract character of philo-
sophical truth in contrast with the rich, concrete nature
of literary truth. Indeed, this quarrel between literature
and philosophy is an ancient one. And, as interesting and
important as the issues are, it will not be the purpose of
these lectures to state, clarify, or resolve the quarrel.
In-
stead, I shall simply pick out one or two of the issues that
retain a contemporary interest and importance and test
their force in some prime examples of literature. I begin,
then, not with Plato's diatribe against literature, but with
I. A. Richards' attack on philosophy in literature.

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