Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
No person who is not a great sculptor or painter can be an architect. If he is not a sculptor or painter, he can only be a builder.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Only those with a deep understanding of artistry can truly excel in architecture, beyond mere construction.
In this quote, John Ruskin emphasizes the importance of artistic skill and creativity in the field of architecture. He argues that a successful architect must possess the artistic sensibilities of a sculptor or painter, as these skills allow them to create structures that are not only functional but also beautifully integrated into their surroundings. Without this artistic foundation, architecture may lack depth and meaning, reducing it to mere construction work.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the importance of artistic skills in various fields, this quote can serve to highlight architecture's roots in art.
More from John Ruskin
All quotes βIn health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.
You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who gnaw like the worm - we who smite like the scythe. It is ourselves who abolish - ourselves who consume: we are the mildew, and the flame.
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.
See that your children be taught, not only the labors of the earth, but the loveliness of it.
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
Similar quotes
A director must push his actors to the utmost limit to get everything possible out of each scene - without being corny or sentimental or going overboard.
I believe in sketching because there is something very sensitive in sketching, you know, in sketches that you don't have out of a computer that looks the same like everybody even if, later on, the dresses are OK, but I like to sketch, and I like to see trails made after my sketches that look the same. It is you know, what I like.
I'm wallowing in the whole idea of just being a guy out there with a band, with songs. It's a real enjoyment.
In most films music is brought in at the end, after the picture is more or less locked, to amplify the emotions the filmmaker wants you to feel.
It still amazes and fascinates me that women of color have kept my work alive for these many generations.
There's an old saying: 'No piece of writing is ever finished, it's just abandoned.' But my own rule is: No piece of work is done until you want to kill everyone involved in the publishing process, especially yourself.