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John Ruskin Quotes

Art critic

John Ruskin was an influential British art critic, writer, and social critic. Known for his profound insights into art, architecture, and social issues, he had a significant impact on the aesthetics and culture of the Victorian era.

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All Men Ifs Art Literature May Humans People Doe Firsts Thinking Architecture Heart World Giving Littles Children Knows Mean Political Done

Famous John Ruskin Quotes

“Every good piece of art... involves first essentially the evidence of human skill, and the formation of an actually beautiful thing by it.”

Firsts Humans Art Beautiful Pieces Skills Evidence Very Good Beautiful Things Formation

Book:Selections and Essays

Source: Selections and Essays

“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.”

Thinking Men Feels Firsts Humans Inspiration Lasts Order Strong Class Four Influence Conditions He Man Poet Creatures Stronger Usual Prophetic

Book:The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings

Source: The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings

“If you want to work for the kingdom of God, and to bring it, and enter into it, there is just one condition to be first accepted. You must enter into it as children, or not at all.”

Ifs Want Firsts Children Conditions Accepted Kingdoms Just One Kingdom Of God

Author:John Ruskin

“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.”

Ifs Firsts Hands Action Lines Draws Rate Critical Continents Surgeons

Book:The Queen of the Air: Being a Study of the Greek Myths of Cloud and Storm

Source: The Queen of the Air: Being a Study of the Greek Myths of Cloud and Storm

“We need examples of people who, leaving Heaven to decide whether they are to rise in the world, decide for themselves that they will be happy in it, and have resolved to seek not greater wealth, but simpler pleasure; not higher fortune, but deeper felicity; making the first of possessions, self-possession; and honouring themselves in the harmless pride and calm pursuits of peace.”

People World Needs Firsts Self Heaven Wealth Pleasure Greater Example Pride Higher Fortune Leaving Calm Possession Deeper Pursuit Felicity

Book:The Two Paths

Source: The Two Paths

“Work first and then rest. Work first, and then gaze, but do not use golden ploughshares, nor bind ledgers in enamel.”

Firsts Use Golden

Book:The seven lamps of architecture

Source: The seven lamps of architecture

“The whole difference between a man of genius and other men, it has been said a thousand times, and most truly, is that the first remains in great part a child, seeing with the large eyes of children, in perpetual wonder, not conscious of much knowledge--conscious, rather of infinite ignorance, and yet infinite power; a fountain of eternal admiration, delight, and creative force within him meeting the ocean of visible and governable things around him.”

Source: The Stones of Venice

“A gentleman's first characteristic is that fineness of structure in the body which renders it capable of the most delicate sensation; and of structure in the mind which renders it capable of the most delicate sympathies; one may say simply "fineness of nature.”

Mind Firsts May Body Capable Structure Gentleman Characteristics Sensations Delicate

Book:pt. VI: Of leaf beauty. pt. VII: Of cloud beauty. pts. VIII-IX: Of ideas of relation

Source: pt. VI: Of leaf beauty. pt. VII: Of cloud beauty. pts. VIII-IX: Of ideas of relation

“As unity demanded for its expression what at first might have seemed its opposite--variety; so repose demands for its expression the implied capability of its opposite--energy. It is the most unfailing test of beauty; nothing can be ignoble that possesses it, nothing right that has it not.”

Firsts Might Energy Expression Demand Tests Opposites Unity Variety Capability Repose Implied Ignoble

Author:John Ruskin

“All great song, from the first day when human lips contrived syllables, has been sincere song.”

Firsts Humans Has Beens Song Lips Sincere Syllables

Book:The Queen of the Air: Being a Study of the Greek Myths of Cloud and Storm

Source: The Queen of the Air: Being a Study of the Greek Myths of Cloud and Storm

“No divine terror will ever be found in the work of the man who wastes a colossal strength in elaborating toys; for the first lesson that terror is sent to teach us is, the value of the human soul, and the shortness of mortal time.”

Men Firsts Humans Soul Values Found Teach Divine He Man Lessons Waste Terror Mortals Toys Human Soul Colossal Shortness

Book:The Stones of Venice: The fall

Source: The Stones of Venice: The fall

“Work first, and then rest.”

Firsts Work

Book:The seven lamps of architecture

Source: The seven lamps of architecture

“The first test of a truly great man is his humility. By humility I don't mean doubt of his powers or hesitation in speaking his opinion, but merely an understanding of the relationship of what he can say and what he can do.”

Men Firsts Mean Understanding Can Do Opinion Doubt Relationship Humility Tests Great Men Hesitation

Author:John Ruskin

“I believe the first test of a truly great man is in his humility.”

Men Firsts Believe Motivational I Believe Humility Tests Great Men Hesitation Haughty Pride And Humility Humble Man Humility Leadership Humility And Leadership

Book:Selections from the Writings of John Ruskin

Source: Selections from the Writings of John Ruskin

“We require from buildings two kinds of goodness: first, the doing their practical duty well: then that they be graceful and pleasing in doing it.”

Firsts Wells Kind Two Design Building Duty Goodness Architecture Practicals Individualism Architecture And Design

Book:The Stones of Venice

Source: The Stones of Venice

“The first duty of government is to see that people have food, fuel, and clothes. The second, that they have means of moral and intellectual education.”

People Firsts Mean Government Political Politics Education Moral Duty Clothes Intellectual Fuel

Book:Fors Clavigera

Source: Fors Clavigera

“The first condition of education is being able to put someone to wholesome and meaningful work.”

Firsts Able Education Conditions Meaningful Meaningful Work

Author:John Ruskin

“All great and beautiful work has come of first gazing without shrinking into the darkness.”

Firsts Beautiful Literature Darkness Gazing Shrinking

Book:The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings

Source: The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings

“The first duty of a state is to see that every child born therein shall be well housed, clothed, fed and educated till it attains years of discretion.”

Years Firsts Wells Children States Literature Born Duty Educated Feds Discretion

Author:John Ruskin

“I believe that the first test of a great man is his humility. I don't mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.”

Men Firsts Believe Mean Feelings I Believe Doubt Greatness Humility Divine Tests Curious Great Men Really Great Merciful

Author:John Ruskin

“The actual flower is the plant's highest fulfilment, and are not here exclusively for herbaria, county floras and plant geography: they are here first of all for delight.”

Firsts Flower Highest Plant Delight Geography County Fulfilment Flora Flower Blossom Summer Flower

Author:John Ruskin

“One evening, when I was yet in my nurse's arms, I wanted to touch the tea urn, which was boiling merrily ... My nurse would have taken me away from the urn, but my mother said "Let him touch it." So I touched it - and that was my first lesson in the meaning of liberty.”

Firsts Said Wanted Mother Liberty Taken Arms Lessons Libertarian Evening Tea Touched Nurse Libertarianism Boiling

Book:The works of John Ruskin

Source: The works of John Ruskin

“"Taste is not only a part and index of morality, it is the only morality. The first, and last, and closest trial question to any living creature is "What do you like?" Tell me what you like, I'll tell you what you are."”

Firsts Lasts Morality Taste Creatures Trials Closest Living Creatures Firsts And Lasts

Author:John Ruskin

“Though you may have known clever men who were indolent, you never knew a great man who was so; and when I hear a young man spoken of as giving promise of great genius, the first question I ask about him always is, Does he work?”

Men Giving Firsts May Doe Young Asks Work Known Genius Promise Clever Young Man Great Men Laziness Clever Man

Book:The Two Paths

Source: The Two Paths

“Depend upon it, the first universal characteristic of all great art is Tenderness, as the second is Truth.”

Firsts Art Truth Depends Art Is Universal Characteristics Tenderness Great Art

Book:The Two Paths: Being Lectures on Art, and Its Application to Decoration and Manufacture, Delivered in 1858-9

Source: The Two Paths: Being Lectures on Art, and Its Application to Decoration and Manufacture, Delivered in 1858-9

“I wish they would use English instead of Greek words. When I want to know why a leaf is green, they tell me it is coloured by "chlorophyll," which at first sounds very instructive; but if they would only say plainly that a leaf is coloured green by a thing which is called "green leaf," we should see more precisely how far we had got.”

Ifs Knows Want Should Firsts Use Science Wish Sound Green Greek Leafs Nomenclature Green Leaves

Book:The Seven Lamps of Architecture: Also, Lectures on Architecture and Painting; The Study of Architecture; Sesame and Lilies; Unto this Last; The Queen of the Air; The Storm-cloud of the Nineteenth Century

Source: The Seven Lamps of Architecture: Also, Lectures on Architecture and Painting; The Study of Architecture; Sesame and Lilies; Unto this Last; The Queen of the Air; The Storm-cloud of the Nineteenth Century

“The only way to understand these difficult parts of the Bible, or even to approach them with safety, is first to read and obey the easy ones.”

Way Firsts Easy Difficult

Author:John Ruskin

“Depend upon it, the first universal characteristic of all great art is Tenderness, as the second is Truth. I find this more and more every day: an infinitude of tenderness is the chief gift and inheritance of all the truly great men. It is sure to involve a relative intensity of disdain towards base things, and an appearance of sternness and arrogance in the eyes of all hard, stupid, and vulgar people”