The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
One can say of language that it is potentially the only human home, the only dwelling place that cannot be hostile to man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Language serves as a safe and unique space for human expression and connection.
In this quote, John Berger emphasizes the importance of language as a fundamental aspect of human existence. He suggests that language is a 'home' for people, offering a refuge where they can express themselves without fear of hostility, highlighting its essential role in creating understanding and community among individuals.
Themes
LanguageHomeExpressionCommunicationHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the importance of education, one might say, 'As John Berger noted, language is potentially the only human home, underscoring how vital it is to our development.'
More from John Berger
All quotes βUnlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
John BergerRead
We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
John BergerRead
The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
John BergerRead
Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
John BergerRead
Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead
Similar quotes
Primroses and landscapes, he pointed out, have one grave defect: they are gratuitous. A love of nature keeps no factories busy. It was decided to abolish the love of nature, at any rate among the lower classes. . . . it was essential that they should keep on going to the country, even though they hated it.
Aldous HuxleyRead
It doesn't matter if an animal can reason. It matters only that it is capable of suffering and that is why I consider it my neighbor.
Albert SchweitzerRead
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value. Acquaintance with grief turns out to be one of the more unusual prerequisites of architectural appreciation. We might, quite aside from all other requirements, need to be a little sad before buildings can properly touch us.
Alain De BottonRead
Work, apart from devotion or love of God, is helpless and cannot stand alone.
RamakrishnaRead
Culture is just a shambling zombie that repeats what it did in life; bits of it drop off, and it doesn't appear to notice.
Alan MooreRead