"The test of an author is not to be found merely in the number of his phrases that pass current in the corner of newspapers... but in the number of passages that have really taken root in younger minds"

This quote by Thomas W. Higginson talks to the importance of an author's influence on the minds of readers. He recommends that the real measure of an author's success is not the number of phrases they have written that have actually become popular in the media, but rather the number of passages that have been internalized and settled in the minds of more youthful readers. This speaks with the power of literature to form and influence the thoughts and beliefs of readers, especially those who are still in the process of forming their own viewpoints and worldviews. Higginson's words remind us of the importance of authors and their operate in assisting to form the minds of the next generation.