The ear disapproves but tolerates certain musical pieces; transfer them into the domain of our nose, and we will be forced to flee.
Jean CocteauRead
It is not inspiration; it is expiration.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that true creativity comes from releasing ideas rather than merely being inspired by them.
Jean Cocteau's quote highlights the notion that the act of creating is more about the expression and release of one's thoughts and feelings than simply waiting passively for inspiration. It emphasizes the importance of the creative process in which individuals must let go of their internal ideas and emotions to produce meaningful work.
Themes
CreativityExpressionIdeasReleaseProcess
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about artistic practices, one might quote Cocteau to emphasize the importance of expressing one's inner thoughts.
More from Jean Cocteau
All quotes βOne must be a living man and a posthumous artist.
Jean CocteauRead
All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.
Jean CocteauRead
Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts.
Jean CocteauRead
Listen carefully to first criticisms made of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.
Jean CocteauRead
Watch yourself all your life in a mirror and you'll see Death at work like bees in a glass hive.
Jean CocteauRead
Similar quotes
If your self-esteem really does depend on how you look you're always going to be insecure. There's no way you can get around it because you are going to age. Even if you get that perfect body you're going to get older and older and older. You can't avid it. So you have to somehow, at some point, take control and sift the focus and decide who you are, what you can contribute to the world, what you do and say, is so much more important than how you look.
Portia De RossiRead
Evils in the journey of life are like the hills which alarm travelers upon their road; they both appear great at a distance, but when we approach them we find that they are far less insurmountable than we had conceived.
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A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.
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The brightest saint is the man who has the most heart-searching sense of his own sinfulness, and the liveliest sense of his own complete acceptance in Christ.
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Embrace suffering, and you transform your relationship with what causes you to suffer, as well as your relationship with suffering itself.
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Often a star was waiting for you to notice it. A wave rolled toward you out of the distant path, or as you walked under an open window, a violin yielded itself to your hearing. All this was mission.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead