Why do we say that literature has a "universal appeal?"

Classic
literature is the recordings of the human heart and spirit, and, thus, has universal appeal. Of
paramount importance to any culture, literature is immortalized truth that is not tampered with;
it is the veritable outpourings of men's souls, a truth that is renewed over and over with the
recordings of other poets and writers....semper veritas. To underscore this
idea, French philosopher Denis Diderot wrote, "The truest history is full of falsehoods,
and your romance if full of truths."

Classic literature provides not
just enjoyment, but also understanding, expanding and refining the mind of the reader, thus
illuminating people's sense of life. Indeed, it is one of life's greatest instructors and
comforters. Interpretive literature, critics agree, has as an objective both pleasure and
understanding. Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, "For only that book can we read which relates
to me something that is already in my mind." , thus, also connects the reader with the
community of man, who, like the reader, has struggled, wept, lost, and known triumphs in
life.