Living substance conquers the frenzy of destruction only in the ecstasy of procreation.
Walter BenjaminRead
Nothing is poorer than a truth expressed as it was thought. Committed to writing in such cases, it is not even a bad photograph. Truth wants to be startled abruptly, at one stroke, from her self-immersion, whether by uproar, music or cries for help.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Truth should be expressed in a way that surprises and engages the audience, rather than merely relayed as it was originally conceived.
Walter Benjamin suggests that mere verbal expression of truth lacks depth and richness. He argues that truth should not be delivered in a straightforward manner, as it diminishes its impact. Instead, it needs to be presented in an engaging way that jolts the audience, whether through chaos, music, or urgent pleas, to evoke a deeper understanding and appreciation of its essence.
Themes
TruthExpressionArtImpactEngagement
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on creativity, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for innovative expression in art.
More from Walter Benjamin
All quotes →The illiterate of the future will not be the man who cannot read the alphabet, but the one who cannot take a photograph.
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If mythic violence is lawmaking, divine violence is law-destroying; if the former sets boundaries, the latter boundlessly destroys them; if mythic violence brings at once guilt and retribution, divine power only expiates; if the former threatens, the latter strikes; if the former is bloody, the latter is lethal without spilling blood
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Writers are really people who write books not because they are poor, but because they are dissatisfied with the books which they could buy but do not like.
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I am unpacking my library. Yes I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order.
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How many cities have revealed themselves to me in the marches I undertook in the pursuit of books!
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When life takes away, something of greater value is always given in return.
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What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible machine is man! Who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment & death itself in vindication of his own liberty, and the next moment ... inflict on his fellow men a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with more misery than ages of that which he rose in rebellion to oppose.
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Let our lives be good, and the times are good. We make our times; such as we are, such are the times.
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Any time something is written against me, I not only share the sentiment but feel I could do the job far better myself. Perhaps I should advise would-be enemies to send me their grievances beforehand, with full assurance that they will receive my every aid and support. I have even secretly longed to write, under a pen name, a merciless tirade against myself.
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I thought of Chatterton, the marvellous boy, The sleepless soul that perished in his pride; Of him who walked in glory and in joy, Following his plough, along the mountain-side. By our own spirits we are deified; We Poets in our youth begin in gladness, But thereof come in the end despondency and madness.
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