It is well known to all great men, that by conferring an obligation they do not always procure a friend, but are certain of creating many enemies.
Henry FieldingRead
Fashion is the science of appearance, and it inspires one with the desire to seem rather than to be.
Interpretation
Fashion focuses on external appearance, often leading people to prioritize how they are perceived over their true selves.
This quote by Henry Fielding reflects the idea that fashion is not just about clothing but rather about the impression it creates. It suggests that fashion can inspire individuals to cultivate an image based on societal expectations, potentially overshadowing their authentic selves. The implication is that the desire to appear in a certain way can sometimes take precedence over genuine self-expression.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the impact of social media on self-image.
It is well known to all great men, that by conferring an obligation they do not always procure a friend, but are certain of creating many enemies.
It is not enough that your designs, nay that your actions, are intrinsically good, you must take care they shall appear so.
Let no man be sorry he has done good, because others concerned with him have done evil! If a man has acted right, he has done well, though along; if wrong, the sanction of all mankind will not justify him.
A newspaper consists of just the same number of words, whether there be any news in it or not.
He grew weary of this condescension, and began to treat the opinions of his wife with that haughtiuess and insolence, which none but those who deserve some contempt themselves can bestow, and those only who deserve no contempt can bear.
Now in reality, the world has paid too great a compliment to critics, and has imagined them to be men of much greater profundity than they really are.
The poet does not know - often he will never know - whom he really writes for.
The mark of all good art is not that the thing done is done exactly or finely, for machinery may do as much, but that it is worked out with the head and the workman's heart.
In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption.
In my naïvety, I thought people who were in rock 'n' roll bands were great artists, and it was a huge shock to the system to realise that they weren't, that they didn't even aspire to be, really. Some of them did, maybe, but some of them, like Samson, were very frightened of the idea.
I write from my soul. This is the reason that critics don't hurt me, because it is me. If it was not me, if I was pretending to be someone else, then this could unbalance my world, but I know who I am.
All art should have a certain mystery and should make demands on the spectator. Giving a sculpture or a drawing too explicit a title takes away part of that mystery so that the spectator moves on to the next object, making no effort to ponder the meaning of what he has just seen. Everyone thinks that he or she looks but they don't really, you know.
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