It was once commonly understood that fiction was in the wisdom business, that it offered not only aesthetic pleasure but also moral improvement. This function of literature was not tough to spot. One of the first English novels was Samuel Richardson's 1740 work, Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded'a title not meant ironically. Through the 19th century, many authors turned directly to the reader with philosophical and social (if sometimes ironic) commentary: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged'; 'It was the best of times'; 'All happy families are alike.' For readers not up to the challenge of full George Eliot novels, her enterprising publisher compiled a volume of Eliot's many Wise, Witty, and Tender Sayings, in order to more broadly distribute 'a morality as pure as it is impassioned.' Such open authorial musing, and maybe literature's wisdom-seeking function itself, has been out of vogue during the past century of show-don't-tell storytelling. Although this has surely spared us some...
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