Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Stephen Spender

Quote by Stephen Spender

“The ultimate aim of politics is not politics, but the activities which can be practised within the political framework of the State. Therefore an effective statement of these activities - e.g. science, art, religion - is in itself a declaration of ultimate aims around which the political means will crystallise... a society with no values outside of politics is a machine carrying its human cargo, with no purpose in its institutions reflecting their care, eternal aspirations, loneliness, need for love.”

Quote by Stephen Spender

Create image

Author

Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender

Stephen Spender was a British poet known for his lyrical poetry and prose. His works often explore the relationship between the individual and society, as well as profound insights into history and culture. Born on February 28, 1909, he passed away on July 16, 1995. more

You May Also Like

“In railway halls, on pavements near the traffic, They beg, their eyes made big by empty staring And only measuring Time , like the blank clock. No, I shall weave no tracery of pen-ornament To make them birds upon my singing tree: Time merely drives these lives which do not live As tides push rotten stuff along the shore.”

MadeBigsEyeStuffTreeSingingBirdEmptyClockStaringHallsPensShoreTidesBlankTrafficRottenOrnamentsMeasuringPavementRailway
Book:New Collected Poems of Stephen Spender
Create image

“I think continually of those who were truly great . Who, from the womb, remembered the soul 's history Through corridors of light where the hours are suns , Endless and singing. Whose lovely ambition Was that their lips, still touched with fire , Should tell of the spirit clothed from head to foot in song .”

ThinkingShouldStillsSoulLightSpiritSongHoursSunFireFeetAmbitionSingingLipsLovelyEndlessRememberedTouchedWombCorridors
Book:Selected Poems of Stephen Spender
Create image

“What is precious is never to forget, The delight of the blood drawn from ancient springs, Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth; Never to deny its pleasure in the simple morning light, Nor its grave evening demand for love; Never to allow gradually the traffic to smother, With noise and fog the flowering of the spirit.”

WorldLightEarthSpiritSimpleForgetPleasureMorningBloodRocksDemandSpringAncientDelightDenyGravesNoiseEveningTrafficFogFloweringMorning Light
Author:Stephen Spender
Create image