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
A healthy church is not a church that's perfect and without sin. It has not figured everything out. Rather, it's a church that continually strives to take God's side in the battle against the ungodly desires and deceits of the world, our flesh, and the devil. It's a church that continually seeks to conform itself to God's Word.
Mark DeverRead
Your past is your shadow. It has form but no substance, except in the places you allow it to touch you. (
Tananarive DueRead
Now if I believe in God's Son and remember that He became man, all creatures will appear a hundred times more beautiful to me than before. Then I will properly appreciate the sun, the moon, the stars, trees, apples, as I reflect that he is Lord over all things. ...God writes the Gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.
Martin LutherRead
If we take the poor away from the Gospel, we won't be able to understand the whole message of Jesus Christ.
Pope FrancisRead
But meanwhile time flies; it flies never to be regained.
VirgilRead
When I left Merle was wearing a bungalow apron and rolling pie crust. She came to the door wiping her hands on the apron and kissed me on the mouth and began to cry and ran back into the house, leaving the doorway empty [...] I had a funny feeling as I saw the house disappear, as though I had written a poem and it was very good and I had lost it and would never remember it again. (p. 262)
Raymond ChandlerRead