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Currently showing 10,076 quotes

Limitations are really good for you. They are a stimulant. If you were told to make a drawing of a tulip using five lines, or using a hundred, you'd have to be more inventive with the five.

David Hockney

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Topic

Artistic constraints Limitations and constraints Creativity Art

Speaker

David Hockney

Source

A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney

Medium

Interview

Language

English

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Citation

Hockney, David. A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney. Thames & Hudson, 2011.

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We must have religion for religion's sake, morality for morality's sake, as with art for art's sake... The beautiful cannot be the way to what is useful, or to what is good, or to what is holy; it leads only to itself.

Victor Cousin

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Topic

Purpose of art Art

Speaker

Victor Cousin

Source

On the True, the Beautiful and the Good

Medium

Lecture

Language

French

Time

1818 1810s 19th century

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Citation

Cousin, Victor. "Du Vrai, du beau, et du bien." Cours de philosophie. École Normale Supérieure, 1818, Paris, France.

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Art should be independent of all claptrap-should stand alone, and appeal to the artistic sense of eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism, and the like. All these have no kind of concern with it.

James McNeill Whistler

The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

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Topic

Nature of art Art

Author

James McNeill Whistler

Source

The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

Language

English

Time

1890 1890s 19th century

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Citation

Whistler, James McNeill. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies. London: William Heinemann, 1890.

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The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd,
Lets in new light through chinks that Time has made;
Stronger by weakness, wiser, men become
As they draw near to their eternal home.
Leaving the old; both worlds at once they view,
That stand upon the threshold of the new.

Edmund Waller

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On the Divine Poems

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Topic

Personal growth Effects of time Acquiring wisdom

Author

Edmund Waller

Source

On the Divine Poems

Language

English

Time

1686 1680s 17th century

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Citation

Waller, Edmund. "On the Foregoing Divine Poems." Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham. Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1857.

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I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may-light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.

John Constable

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Topic

Perspective Ugliness Beauty

Speaker

John Constable

Source

Memoirs of the Life of John Constable

Genre

Autobiography and memoir

Language

English

Time

19th century

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Original Citation

Constable, John. Quoted in Memoirs of the Life of John Constable, written and edited by C.R. Leslie. London: James Carpenter, 1843, ch. 17.

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Current Citation

Constable, John. Quoted in Constable: Memoirs of the Life (Arts & Letters), written and edited by C.R. Leslie. Phaidon, 1995.

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That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

George Mason

Virginia Bill of Rights

Read The Virginia Declaration of Rights at the National Archives website
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Topic

Natural law Political theory

Author

George Mason

Source

Virginia Bill of Rights

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1776 1770s 18th century

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Citation

Mason, George. Virginia Bill of Rights. 12 June 1776, article 1.

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How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing.

Neville Chamberlain

On German's annexation of the Sudetenland.

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Topic

World War II

Speaker

Neville Chamberlain

Medium

Radio broadcast

Language

English

Time

1938 1930s 20th century

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Citation

Chamberlain, Neville. Radio broadcast referring to the Czechoslovakia crisis. 27 Sept. 1938, 10 Downing Street, London, England, UK.

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For an actress to be a success, she must have the face of a Venus, the brains of a Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of a Macaulay, the figure of Juno and the hide of a rhinoceros.

Ethel Barrymore

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Topic

Hollywood Patriarchy Women

Speaker

Ethel Barrymore

Source

The Theatre in the Fifties

Language

English

Time

1953 1950s 20th century

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Citation

Barrymore, Ethyl. Quoted in The Theatre in the Fifties, written by George Jean Nathan. Alfred A. Knopf, 1953.

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Black is beautiful when it is a slum kid studying to enter college, when it is a man learning new skills for a new job, or a slum mother battling to give her kids a chance for a better life. But white is beautiful, too, when it helps change society to make our system work for black people also. White is ugly when it oppresses blacks-and so is black ugly when black people exploit other blacks. No race has a monopoly on vice or virtue, and the worth of an individual is not related to the color of his skin.

Whitney Young

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Black is beautiful Race relations

Author

Whitney Young

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1969 1960s 20th century

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Citation

Young, Whitney Moore, Jr. Beyond Racism: Building an Open Society. McGraw-Hill, 1969, ch. 4.

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I keep writing about the ordinary because for me it's the home of the extraordinary.

Philip Levine

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Topic

Writing The ordinary and mundane

Speaker

Philip Levine

Medium

Interview

Language

English

Time

2001 2000s 21st century

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Citation

Levine, Philip. "The Unwritten Biography." Interviewed by Edward Hirsch. Poets.org, 29 Aug. 2001, poets.org/text/unwritten-biography-philip-levine-and-edward-hirsch-conversation.

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The clock, not the steam-engine, is the key-machine of the modern industrial age.

Lewis Mumford

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Topic

Modern economy Time

Author

Lewis Mumford

Source

Technics and Civilization

Genre

Historical literature

Language

English

Time

1934 1930s 20th century

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Citation

Mumford, Lewis. Technics and Civilization. Harcourt, Brace and Company/Routledge, 1934, ch. 1, sect. 2.

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So we think of Marilyn who was every man's love affair with America, Marilyn Monroe who was blonde and beautiful and had a sweet little rinky-dink of a voice and all the cleanliness of all the clean American backyards.

Norman Mailer

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Topic

Marilyn Monroe Blondes America

Author

Norman Mailer

Genre

Biography

Language

English

Time

1973 1970s 20th century

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Citation

Mailer, Norman. Marilyn: A Biography. Grosset & Dunlap, 1973.

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The day has clearly gone forever of societies small enough for their members to have personal acquaintance with each another, and to find their station through the appraisal of those who have any first-hand knowledge of them. Publicity is an evil substitute and the art of publicity is a black art; but it has come to stay, every year adds to its potency and to the finality of its judgments. The hand that rules the press, the radio, the screen and the far-spread magazine, rules the country; whether we like it or not, we must learn to accept it.

Learned Hand

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Speaker

Learned Hand

Source

Speeches of Learned Hand

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1942 1940s 20th century

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Citation

Hand, Learned. "Mr. Justice Brandeis." Memorial Service. 21 Dec. 1942, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC, USA.

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I am happiest when I am idle. I could live for months without performing any kind of labour, and at the expiration of that time I should feel fresh and vigorous enough to go right on in the same way for numerous more months.

Artemus Ward

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Topic

Idleness Taking it easy

Author

Artemus Ward

Medium

Personal journal

Language

English

Time

1867 1860s 19th century

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Citation

Ward, Artemus. Artemus Ward in London, and Other Papers. New York: G.W. Carleton & Co./London: S. Low, Son & Co., 1867, ch. 9.

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We should not pretend to understand the world only by the intellect; we apprehend it just as much by feeling. Therefore, the judgment of the intellect is, at best, only the half of truth, and must, if it be honest, also come to an understanding of its inadequacy.

Carl Jung

Click here to buy Psychological Types at Amazon Click here to buy Psychological Types at Amazon
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Topic

Reason and emotion Reason Emotions

Author

Carl Jung

Source

Psychological Types

Genre

Psychological literature

Language

German

Time

1921 1920s 20th century

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Original Citation

Jung, Carl. Psychologische Typen [Psychological Types]. Rascher Verlag, 1921.

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Current Citation

Jung, Carl. Psychological Types, edited by R. F. C. Hull, translated by H. G. Baynes. Princeton University Press, 1976.

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Our procedure has been always haunted by the ghost of the innocent man convicted. It is an unreal dream. What we need to fear is the archaic formalism and the watery sentiment that obstructs, delays, and defeats the prosecution of crime.

Learned Hand

United States v. Garsson

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Topic

Criminal law Crime

Author

Learned Hand

Source

United States v. Garsson

Medium

Legal opinion

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1923 1920s 20th century

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Citation

Hand, Learned. District Court, S. D. New York. United States v. Garsson. 291 F. 646. 1 Feb. 1923.

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The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog.... When all other friends desert, he remains.

George Graham Vest

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Eulogy of the Dog

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Read Eulogy of the Dog at senate.gov
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Topic

Dogs Man and animals

Speaker

George Graham Vest

Source

Eulogy of the Dog

Medium

Courtroom speech Speech

Language

English

Time

1870 1870s 19th century

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Citation

Vest, George Graham. "The Eulogy of the Dog." The Old Drum Case. Hornsby v. Burden, 23 Sept. 1870.

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The right sort of love is recognized by the sort of joy, of general excitement, of exultant life which the presence of someone produces in us and which distinguishes them. You feel better when with them.

Paul Valéry

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Topic

Being in love Love

Author

Paul Valéry

Source

Journals of Paul Valéry

Medium

Personal journal

Language

French

Time

20th century

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Citation

Valéry, Paul. Notebook entry. c. 1945.

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Deceive not thyself by overexpecting happiness in the married estate... Remember the nightingales which sing only some months in the spring, but commonly are silent when they have hatched their eggs.

Thomas Fuller (churchman)

The Holy State and the Profane State

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Topic

Marriage

Author

Thomas Fuller (churchman)

Source

The Holy State and the Profane State

Medium

Essay

Genre

Travel writing

Language

English

Time

1642 1640s 17th century

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Citation

Fuller, Thomas. The Holy State and the Profane State. Cambridge: John Williams, 1642, bk. 3, ch. 22.

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Oh, Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind...and that's what's been changing. That's why I'm glad I'm here, maybe I can do something about it.

Kris Kringle

Miracle on 34th Street

Watch Miracle on 34th Street at Amazon Watch Miracle on 34th Street at Amazon
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Topic

The true meaning of Christmas Christmas

Speaker

Kris Kringle

Actor

Edmund Gwenn

Source

Miracle on 34th Street

Medium

Film

Genre

Christmas (film) Comedy drama (film) Christmas Comedy drama

Language

English

Time

1947 1940s 20th century

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Citation

Miracle on 34th Street. Directed by George Seaton, 20th Century Fox, 1947.

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