“In the comprehension of familiar truths guaranteed by authority, the age is much less concerned with originality of interpretation than with the confirmation and corroboration of the truths themselves. It regards the rediscovery of what has already been established, the reforming of what has already been formed and the reinterpretation of truth as pointless and meaningless. The supreme values are beyond question and contained in eternally valid forms; the desire to change them, merely for the sake of changing them, would be pure presumption. The purpose of life is possession of the eternal values, not mental activity for its own sake. This is a calm, firmly established age, strong in faith, never losing its confidence in the validity of its own conception of truth and moral law, having no intellectual dissension and no conflicts of conscience, feeling no yearning for the new and no boredom with the old. At any rate, it does not lend any support to such ideas and feelings.”
Quote by Arnold Hauser
Work
The Social History of Art, Volume 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Middle Ages
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Author
You May Also Like
“You don’t have to live like everyone else. In fact, you’ll probably be happier if you don’t.”
Source: The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1
Source: Dead Toad Scrolls
Source: Fear and Trembling
Source: On Right Livelihood
Source: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Source: Liquid Modernity