O suffering, sad humanity! O ye afflicted ones, who lie Steeped to the lips in misery, Longing, yet afraid to die, Patient, though sorely tried!
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Ah, to build, to build! That is the noblest art of all the arts. Painting and sculpture are but images, Are merely shadows cast by outward things On stone or canvas, having in themselves No separate existence. Architecture, Existing in itself, and not in seeming A something it is not, surpasses them As substance shadow.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Building is the highest form of art, transcending other creative expressions like painting and sculpture.
In this quote, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow emphasizes the distinction between architecture and other forms of art. He argues that while painting and sculpture are representations of external realities, architecture is unique in that it is a tangible and self-sufficient creation that embodies both form and function, making it the noblest of all artistic endeavors.
Themes
ArchitectureArtBuildingCreationNobility
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about cultural heritage, one might say, 'Ah, to build, to build! That is the noblest art of all the arts.'
More from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All quotes →There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
To be seventy years old is like climbing the Alps. You reach a snow-crowned summit, and see behind you the deep valley stretching miles and miles away, and before you other summits higher and whiter, which you may have strength to climb, or may not. Then you sit down and meditate and wonder which it will be.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
God is not dead; nor doth He sleep; ... _x000D_ The wrong shall fail,_x000D_ The right prevail,_x000D_ With peace on earth, good will to men.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
In the long run men hit only what they aim at.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Similar quotes
I can't change the fact that my paintings don't sell. But the time will come when people will recognize that they are worth more than the value of the paints used in the picture.
Vincent Van GoghRead
I work for ABC. If the thing that ABC is paying me for is storytelling - not to make sure that a costume is exactly right or all those other things - then it is up to me to find the most creative space possible so that that function of my job can happen.
Shonda RhimesRead
I'd like to be remembered as a premier singer of songs, not just a popular act of a given period.
Luther VandrossRead
The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.
Ansel AdamsRead
If I were able to write, I probably would. But movies have given me a part of my life where I can express feelings and bring convictions to an audience as if I could write. So I made 'Gandhi' about human relations, prejudice and the empire. In 'Cry Freedom' I expressed my horror and disgust about apartheid.
Richard AttenboroughRead
Few sensible authors are happy discussing the creative process--it is, after all, black magic.
Edward AlbeeRead