A man who has not read Homer is like a man who has not seen the ocean. There is a great object of which he has no idea.
– Walter Bagehot: Literary Studies. i-225.
There are not too many authors who have made such a great impact on humanity’s literary history that such a sweeping statement can be made. However, many cultures can boast of writers of such greatness. Thus, we may substitute Homer with Valmiki, Goethe, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Kamban, Ferdowsi, or many others. It is ironic that the same humanity that has produced such gems has also produced ugly and ruthless tyrants and conquerors.
Spurts of Thought 