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Art supplies constantly to contemplation what nature seldom affords in concrete experience - the union of life and peace.
George Santayana
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Art allows for deep reflection and a sense of tranquility that nature does not always provide.

In this quote, George Santayana emphasizes the unique power of art to facilitate contemplation and reflection. While nature offers experiences of beauty and life, art can distill these experiences, creating a harmonious space for individuals to find both introspection and serenity, effectively merging the vitality of life with the tranquility of peace.

Themes

ArtContemplationNaturePeaceExperience

In practice

Example use cases

In an art class, a teacher might use this quote to inspire students to explore the deeper meanings behind their creations.

More from George Santayana

It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
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The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
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There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
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Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
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To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
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The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
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