QuoteProject
Genius creates, and taste preserves. Taste is the good sense of genius; without taste, genius is only sublime folly.
Alexander Pope
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Genius is about creation, while taste ensures that these creations are appreciated and valued; without taste, genius can lead to meaningless outcomes.

In this quote, Alexander Pope emphasizes the relationship between genius and taste, suggesting that while a genius is capable of creating remarkable works, it is taste that allows those creations to be recognized as meaningful and valuable. Without taste, the brilliance of genius may become irrelevant or misguided, resulting in what he calls 'sublime folly.' This highlights the importance of discernment and appreciation in the realm of art and creativity.

Themes

GeniusTasteCreationArtAppreciation

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture about creativity, I quoted Pope to emphasize the importance of cultivating taste in budding artists.

More from Alexander Pope

Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
What dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Alexander PopeRead
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
Alexander PopeRead
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
Alexander PopeRead
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Alexander PopeRead
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
Alexander PopeRead

Similar quotes

The work that lasts over time is the work which still speaks to us when all contemporary interest in that work is extinct.
Jeanette WintersonRead
In literature imitations do not imitate.
Mark TwainRead
The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts, but is also the return of art to life.
Oscar WildeRead
I've been told, and I think I recognize it, that there's a cinematic quality to my writing, with a sense of image and place and scene - and, some would say, my tendency to finish my books the way Hollywood finishes its films.
Khaled HosseiniRead
All worthy work is open to interpretations the author did not intend. Art isn't your pet -- it's your kid. It grows up and talks back to you.
Joss WhedonRead
My most persistent memory of stand - up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the mouth speaking the line, the body delivering the gesture, while the mind looks back, observing, analyzing, judging, worrying, and then deciding when and what to say next. Enjoyment while performing was rare - enjoyment would have been an indulgent loss of focus that comedy cannot afford.
Steve MartinRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.