"Anything of any importance cannot help but be unrecognizable, since it bears no resemblance to anything already known."

Jean Cocteau Literature See all quotes by Jean Cocteau →

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“Art is science made clear.”

“Look out! Be on your guard, because alone of all the arts, music moves all around you.”

“Expect neither reward nor beatitude. Return noble waves for ignoble.”

“Do as the beautiful woman: see to your figure and your petticoats. Though, of course, I am not speaking literally.”

“Poetry is indispensable — if I only knew what for.”

“Such is the role of poetry. It unveils, in the strict sense of the word. It lays bare, under a light which shakes off torpor, the surprising things which surround us and which our senses record mechanically.”

Resonant Thoughts

"He cannot endure Rachel, because he knows she has a proper appreciation of him."

— Anne Brontë

Literature1820–1849

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"The task will be more fruitfully performed if the citizen, and his agents in public offices, understand the ecology of government."

— John M. Gaus

Science1894–1969

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"Satsangis should never understand themselves as alone, and they should never feel that they are helpless and alone, because they are never alone; they are never helpless. The gracious hand of the perf…"

— Ajaib Singh

Science1926–1997

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"My trip reminded me that we are all just animals, that stuff comes out of every hole we have, no matter where we live or how much money we've got. On some level we all know this and manage, quite plea…"

— David Sedaris

Entertainment1956

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