What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
What is the use of writing plays, what is the use of writing anything, if there is not a will which finally moulds chaos itself into a race of gods.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the transformative power of art, suggesting that creation has a purpose in elevating human experience.
George Bernard Shaw's quote speaks to the profound purpose behind artistic creation, implying that writing and creative expression serve to bring order and meaning to the chaos of life. It suggests that through art, individuals can transcend their mundane existence and aspire to something greater, akin to a divine or elevated state of being. The 'will' mentioned refers to the creative drive that seeks to mold reality into something beautiful and meaningful.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a creative writing workshop, one might use this quote to inspire aspiring writers about the significance of their craft.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
Similar quotes
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.
Whatever's merely willful, and not miraculous (be never it so skilful) must wither fail and cease - but better than to grow beauty knows no.
The more one studies the harmony of music, and then studies human nature, how people agree and how they disagree, how there is attraction and repulsion, the more one will see that it is all music.
Making a film that's supposed to be fun to watch is really hard - that's the weird irony of it.
I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told.
I was told stories, we were all told stories as kids in Nigeria. We had to tell stories that would keep one another interested, and you weren't allowed to tell stories that everybody else knew. You had to dream up new ones.