"Art begins with resistance — at the point where resistance is overcome. No human masterpiece has ever been created without great labor."

André Gide Literature See all quotes by André Gide →

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“We call “happiness” a certain set of circumstances that makes joy possible. But we call joy that state of mind and emotions that needs nothing to feel happy.”

“The sole art that suits me is that which, rising from unrest, tends toward serenity.”

“When intelligent people pride themselves on not understanding, it is quite natural they should succeed better than fools.”

“True kindness presupposes the faculty of imagining as one’s own the suffering and joys of others.”

“The great artists are the ones who dare to entitle to beauty things so natural that when they’re seen afterward, people say: Why did I never realize before that this too was beautiful?”

“O my dearest and most lovable thought, why should I try further to legitimize your birth?”

Resonant Thoughts

"It may safely be asserted that the art of war will soon be reduced to a simple question of expenditure and credit, and that the largest purse will be the strongest arm."

— William Winwood Reade

Literature1838–1875

#art

"I am not thinking of those shining precepts which are the registered property of every school; that is to say — learn as much by writing as by reading; be not content with the best book; seek sideligh…"

— John Dalberg-Acton

Literature1834–1902

#books

"The child race is fresh, eager, interested, innocent, imaginative, healthy and full of faith, where the adult race, more often than not, is stale, spiritually debauched, unimaginative, unhealthy, and …"

— William Saroyan

Literature1908–1981

#health

"The process begins with the individual woman’s acceptance that American women, without exception, are socialized to be racist, and sexist, in varying degrees, and that labeling ourselves feminists doe…"

— bell hooks

Education1952–2021

#change