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John Ruskin
98 quotes
“The water which has been refused to the cry of the weary and dying is unholy, though it had been blessed by every saint in heaven; and the water which is found in the vessel of mercy is holy, though it had been defiled with corpses.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1841 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The King of the Golden River or The Black Brothers: A Legend of Stiria (1841), Ch. 5 : How Little Gluck Set off on an expedition to the Golden River, and how he prospered therein, with other matters of interest. • Full …
“No small misery is caused by overworked and unhappy people, in the dark views which they necessarily take up themselves, and force upon others, of work itself.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1851 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pre-Raphaelitism, section 1 (1851)
“There is but one question ultimately to be asked respecting every line you draw, Is it right or wrong? If right, it most assuredly is not a "free" line, but an intensely continent, restrained and considered line; and the action of the hand in laying it is just as decisive, and just as "free" as the hand of a first-rate surgeon in a critical incision.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cestus of Aglaia, chapter VI, section 72 (1865-66)
“For when we are interested in the beauty of a thing, the oftener we can see it the better; but when we are interested only by the story of a thing, we get tired of hearing the same tale told over and over again, and stopping always at the same point — we want a new story presently, a newer and better one — and the picture of the day, and novel of the day, become as ephemeral as the coiffure or the bonnet of the day. Now this spirit is wholly adverse to the existence of any lovely art. If you mean to throw it aside to-morrow, you can never have it to-day.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1867 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the Condition of Modern Art, lecture (1867)
“Punishment is the last and least effective instrument in the hands of the legislator for the prevention of crime.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1868 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Notes on the General Principles of Employment for the Destitute and Criminal Classes (1868)
“Engraving is, in brief terms, the Art of Scratch.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1872 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ariadne Florentina: Six Lectures on Wood and Metal Engraving, with Appendix, lecture I: Definition of the Art of Engraving, section 34 (1872)
“In great states, children are always trying to remain children, and the parents wanting to make men and women of them. In vile states, the children are always wanting to be men and women, and the parents to keep them children.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1875 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mornings in Florence, part III, section 49 (1875)
“Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts—the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others; but of the three, the only quite trustworthy one is the last. The acts of a nation may be triumphant by its good fortune; and its words mighty by the genius of a few of its children: but its art, only by the general gifts and common sympathies of the race.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1877 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: St. Mark's Rest: The History of Venice (1877)
“Without perfect sympathy with the animals around them, no gentleman's education, no Christian education, could be of any possible use.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1877 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: At the annual meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1877), in Arrows of the Chase, vol. 2 (in The Complete Works of John Ruskin, vol. 23), p. 129
“There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1894 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, The Use of Life, chapter IV: "Recreation" (1894)
“There is nothing so small but that we may honour God by asking His guidance of it, or insult Him by taking it into our own hands.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is the glistening and softly spoken lie; the amiable fallacy; the patriotic lie of the historian, the provident lie of the politician, the zealous lie of the partisan, the merciful lie of the friend, and the careless lie of each man to himself, that cast that black mystery over humanity, through which we thank any man who pierces, as we would thank one who dug a well in a desert.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do not believe that ever any building was truly great, unless it had mighty masses, vigorous and deep, of shadow mingled with its surface.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Work first and then rest. Work first, and then gaze, but do not use golden ploughshares, nor bind ledgers in enamel.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we build, let us think that we build for ever.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How false is the conception, how frantic the pursuit, of that treacherous phantom which men call Liberty.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You were made for enjoyment, and the world was filled with things which you will enjoy, unless you are too proud to be pleased with them, or too grasping to care for what you cannot turn to other account than mere delight. Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless: peacocks and lilies, for instance.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In old times, men used their powers of painting to show the objects of faith; in later times, they used the objects of faith that they might show their powers of painting.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of all God's gifts to the sight of man, colour is the holiest, the most divine, the most solemn.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of human work none but what is bad can be perfect in its own bad way.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The world is full of vulgar Purists, who bring discredit on all selection by the silliness of their choice; and this the more, because the very becoming a Purist is commonly indicative of some slight degree of weakness, readiness to be offended, or narrowness of understanding of the ends of things.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The work of science is to substitute facts for appearances, and demonstrations for impressions.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He who has the truth at his heart need never fear the want of persuasion on his tongue.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The first sight of the tomb Ilario di Carreto at Lucca at once altered the course of my life for me… and from that day I left the upholsterer's business in art to those who trade in it, and have guided my work, and limited my teaching, only by the sacred laws of truth and devotion which created the perfect schools of Christian art in Florence and Venice.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“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.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The greatest minds are marked by nothing more distinctly than an inconceivable humility, and acceptance of work or instruction in any form, and from any quarter. They will learn from everybody, and do anything that anybody asks, so long as it involves only toil, or what other men would think degradation.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For certainly it is excellent discipline for an author to feel that he must say all he has to say in the fewest possible words, or his reader is sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words, or his reader will certainly misunderstand them.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You may either win your peace, or buy it:—win it, by resistance to evil;—buy it, by compromise with evil.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He is the greatest artist who has embodied, in the sum of his works, the greatest number of the greatest ideas.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1843 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume I, part I, chapter II, section 9 (1843)
“The infinity of God is not mysterious, it is only unfathomable; not concealed, but incomprehensible; it is a clear infinity, the darkness of the pure unsearchable sea.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume II, part III, section I, chapter V (1846)
“I believe that the root of almost every schism and heresy from which the Christian church has ever suffered, has been the effort of men to earn, rather than to receive, their salvation.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume II, part III, section I, chapter XV (1846)
“There is never vulgarity in a whole truth, however commonplace. It may be unimportant or painful. It cannot be vulgar. Vulgarity is only in concealment of truth, or in affectation.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part IV, chapter VII (1856)
“The word "Blue" does not mean the sensation caused by a gentian on the human eye; but it means the power of producing that sensation: and this power is always there, in the thing, whether we are there to experience it or not, and would remain there though there were not a man left on the face of the earth.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part IV, chapter XII (1856)
“All violent feelings have the same effect. They produce in us a falseness in all our impressions of external things, which I would generally characterize as the "Pathetic Fallacy.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part IV, chapter XII (1856)
“And thus, in full, there are four classes: the men who feel nothing, and therefore see truly; the men who feel strongly, think weakly, and see untruly (second order of poets); the men who feel strongly, think strongly, and see truly (first order of poets); and the men who, strong as human creatures can be, are yet submitted to influences stronger than they, and see in a sort untruly, because what they see is inconceivably above them. This last is the usual condition of prophetic inspiration.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part IV, chapter XII (1856)
“It is only the basest writer who cannot speak of the sea without talking of "raging waves," "remorseless floods," "ravenous billows," etc.; and it is one of the signs of the highest power in a writer to check all such habits of thought, and to keep his eyes fixed firmly on the pure fact, out of which if any feeling comes to him or his reader, he knows it must be a true one.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part IV, chapter XII (1856)
“The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something, and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion, — all in one.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part IV, chapter XVI (1856)
“To invent a story, or admirably and thoroughly tell any part of a story, it is necessary to grasp the entire mind of every personage concerned in it, and know precisely how they would be affected by what happens; which to do requires a colossal intellect: but to describe a separate emotion delicately, it is only needed that one should feel it oneself; and thousands of people are capable of feeling this or that noble emotion, for one who is able to enter into all the feelings of someone sitting on the other side of the table.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part IV, chapter XVI (1856)
“In general, when the imagination is at all noble, it is irresistible, and therefore those who can at all resist it ought to resist it. Be a plain topographer if you possibly can; if Nature meant you to be anything else, she will force you to it; but never try to be a prophet.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part V, chapter II (1856)
“It is not possible to find a landscape, which if painted precisely as it is, will not make an impressive picture. No one knows, till he has tried, what strange beauty and subtle composition is prepared to his hand by Nature.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume III, part V, chapter II (1856)
“In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume IV, part V, chapter III, section 22 (1856)
“All true opinions are living, and show their life by being capable of nourishment; therefore of change. But their change is that of a tree — not of a cloud.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1860 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume V, Preface (1860)
“Expression, sentiment, truth to nature, are essential: but all those are not enough. I never care to look at a picture again, if it be ill composed; and if well composed I can hardly leave off looking at it.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1860 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume V, part VIII, chapter I, section 2 (1860)
“The power which causes the several portions of the plant to help each other, we call life. Much more is this so in an animal. We may take away the branch of a tree without much harm to it; but not the animal's limb. Thus, intensity of life is also intensity of helpfulness — completeness of depending of each part on all the rest. The ceasing of this help is what we call corruption; and in proportion to the perfectness of the help, is the dreadfulness of the loss. The more intense the life has been, the more terrible is its corruption.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1860 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume V, part VIII, chapter 1, section 4 (1860)
“In painting as in eloquence, the greater your strength, the quieter your manner.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1860 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume V, part VIII, chapter III (1860)
“Other men used their effete faiths and mean faculties with a high moral purpose. The Venetian gave the most earnest faith, and the lordliest faculty, to gild the shadows of an antechamber, or heighten the splendours of a holiday.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1860 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume V, part IX, chapter III, section 52 (1860)
“A monk of La Trappe, a French soldier of the Imperial Guard, and a thriving mill-owner, supposing each a type, and no more than a type, of his class, are all interesting specimens of humanity, but narrow ones, — so narrow that even all the three together would not make up a perfect man.”
John Ruskin (1819–1900) first seen 1860 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Volume V, part IX, chapter XI (1860)