In this article the criteria of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) according to DSM-III-R are illustrated by a number of literary quotations. It is demonstrated that literary authors can give excellent descriptions of PTSD-symptoms. Therefore reading fiction can be more than reading `for fun or for literary values. Reading fiction can also be seen as an addition to reading scientific literature. Belles-lettres can give illustrations of psychopathologic phenomena and thus can give greater understanding of both theoretical concepts and of patients.