It is enough for a poet to be the guilty conscience of his age.
Saint-John PerseRead
In truth, every creation of the mind is first of all 'poetic' in the proper sense of the word; and inasmuch as there exists an equivalence between the modes of sensibility and intellect, it is the same function that is exercised initially in the enterprises of the poet and the scientist.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses that both poetry and scientific creation stem from the same fundamental human creativity.
Saint-John Perse highlights the intrinsic link between poetry and science, suggesting that both emerge from a similar creative source within the human mind. He argues that the processes of intellect and sensibility are interconnected, allowing poetry and scientific inquiry to coexist as expressions of human imagination and understanding.
Themes
CreativityPoetryScienceImaginationIntellect
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on interdisciplinary studies, one might say, 'As Saint-John Perse noted, both poetry and science share a deep-rooted connection in human creativity.'
More from Saint-John Perse
All quotes →Poetry allies itself with beauty - a supreme union - but never uses it as its ultimate goal or sole nourishment.
Saint-John PerseRead
The poet existed among the cave men; he will exist among men of the atomic age, for he is an inherent part of man. Even religions have been born from the need for poetry, which is a spiritual need, and it is through the grace of poetry that the divine spark lives forever in the human flint.
Saint-John PerseRead
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