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Music, feelings of happiness, mythology, faces worn by time, certain twilights and certain places, want to tell us something, or they told us something that we should not have missed, or they are about to tell us something; this imminence of a revelation that is not produced is, perhaps, the esthetic event.
Jorge Luis Borges
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests that music and experiences evoke profound emotions that reveal deeper truths if we are attentive to them.

Jorge Luis Borges emphasizes the profound connection between art and our emotional experiences. He suggests that various elements of life, such as music, our feelings, and the beauty of nature, carry messages that we often overlook or are on the verge of understanding. The 'imminence of a revelation' indicates that these experiences can lead to significant insights if we remain open to them, making the appreciation of art an aesthetic event that resonates with our innermost selves.

Themes

MusicHappinessArtRevelationAesthetic

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used during a lecture on the emotional impact of art and music in our lives.

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A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses, and individuals. A short time before he dies, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the lineaments of his own face.
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Let neither tear nor reproach besmirch this declaration of the mastery of God who, with magnificent irony, granted me both the gift of books and the night.
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Quote by Jorge Luis Borges | QuoteProject