Art is the daughter of freedom.
Friedrich SchillerRead
Utility is the great idol of the age, to which all powers must do service and all talents swear allegiance.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Utility is prioritized above all else in modern society, demanding allegiance from both individuals and talents.
Friedrich Schiller's quote highlights the pervasive influence of utility in contemporary life, suggesting that society's values prioritize usefulness over other virtues. In this context, individuals are compelled to align their abilities and efforts with what is deemed practically beneficial, rendering moral and artistic pursuits secondary to the demands of functionality and service.
Themes
UtilitySocietyServiceTalentAllegiance
In practice
Example use cases
During a keynote speech on modern entrepreneurship, one could quote Schiller to emphasize the importance of aligning business practices with practical outcomes.
More from Friedrich Schiller
All quotes →There is no such thing as chance; and what seem to us merest accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.
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Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing.
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While the womanly god demands our veneration, the godlike woman kindles our love; but while we allow ourselves to melt in the celestial loveliness, the celestial self-sufficiency holds us back in awe.
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As noble Art has survived noble nature, so too she marches ahead of it, fashioning and awakening by her inspiration. Before Truth sends her triumphant light into the depths of the heart, imagination catches its rays, and the peaks of humanity will be glowing when humid night still lingers in the valleys.
Friedrich SchillerRead
Wise to resolve, patient to perform.
Friedrich SchillerRead
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Deep is the well of truth and long does it take to know what has fallen into its depths.
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I dream. Sometimes I think that’s the only right thing to do. To dream, to live in the world of dreams. But it doesn’t last forever. Wakefulness always comes to take me back.
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