The arts and inventions of each period are only its costume, and do not invigorate men.
Interpretation
Art and inventions reflect the time but do not empower individuals.
Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests that the artistic expressions and technological innovations of any given era are merely superficial adornments, representative of the culture and trends of that time, rather than true sources of strength or inspiration for humanity. This perspective emphasizes that the essence of human experience and dignity lies beyond the external trappings of art and invention.
In practice
In an art class, while discussing the essence of creativity, this quote can inspire students to look deeper than surface aesthetics.
It is plain that there is no separate essence called courage, no cup or cell in the brain, no vessel in the heart containing drops or atoms that make or give this virtue; but it is the right or healthy state of every man, when he is free to do that which is constitutional to him to do.
Few people have any next, they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line.
Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations
Tis the good reader that makes the good book; a good head cannot read amiss: in every book he finds passages which seem confidences or asides hidden from all else and unmistakeably meant for his ear.
The world belongs to the energetic.
Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.
Ecstasy is the accurate term for the intensity of consciousness that occurs in the creative act.
I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal, and frightening in at least a decade unprecedented in the history of cinema.
When I was a kid, I took 'The Brady Bunch' and 'The Partridge Family' very seriously. It was a world to me in the same way that the Greek myths would have been had I read them. You know, Marcia is Athena and Mr. Brady is Zeus.
It is true that all men are created in the image of God, but Christians are supposed to be conscious of that fact, and being conscious of it should recognize the importance of living artistically, aesthetically, and creatively, as creative creatures of the Creator. If we have been created in the image of an Artist, then we should look for expressions of artistry, and be sensitive to beauty, responsive to what has been created for us
I also started writing songs because I had this burning activity in my heart and had to express myself.
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