“The purer the artist's 'mirror' is, the more true reality reflects in it. Overseeing the historical culture of art, we must conclude that the mirror only slowly is purified. Time producing this purifying shows a gradual, more constant and objective image of reality.” ArtShowsRealityArtistCultureMirrorsConstantHistoricalObjectivesPurifyingTrue RealityOverseeing Book:The new art--the new life: the collected writings of Piet Mondrian Source: The new art--the new life: the collected writings of Piet Mondrian
“Nietzsche inveighs against every sort of historical optimism; but he energetically repudiates the ordinary pessimism, which is the result of degenerate or enfeebled instincts of decadence. He preaches with youthful enthusiasm the triumph of a tragic culture, introduced by an intrepid rising generation, in which the spirit of ancient Greece might be born again. He rejects the pessimism of Schopenhauer, for he already abhors all renunciation; but he seeks a pessimism of healthiness, one derived from strength, from exuberant power, and he believes he has found it in the Greeks.” BelieveMightSpiritCultureFoundBornResultsGenerationsOrdinaryOptimismHistoricalInstinctAncientEnthusiasmTriumphGreekRisingTragicRejectsPessimismGreeceBorn AgainRenunciationDegeneratesDecadenceAncient Greece Author:Georg Brandes
“Like sex, poverty and power, suicide may always be with us. But like them again, the actual form is takes is essentially time-specific and culture-bound, not only in the past but in the present too. The people who took their lives, the paths which led them to that end, and the experience of dying in this way were deeply influenced by specific historical circumstances. Only by making a greater effort at historical understanding can this most secret house of death be made to yield up more of its confidences.” PeopleWayMayMadeEndsPastFormCultureHouseSexUnderstandingEffortSecretPovertyPathGreaterDyingCircumstancesSuicideHistoricalBoundsYieldBritish History Author:David Cannadine
“It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time, they were the two most unpleasant cultures in the entire world, and richly deserved each other. Still, the story of how stout Cortes blustered, bullied and bludgeoned his way to collapsing an entire empire with a handful of contagious hoodlums is astonishing.” WorldWayMadeStillsTwoStoriesCultureHeavenHistoryHumourMetsJokesBlindHistoricalEmpiresHandfulAstonishingContagiousBulliedStoutBlind DateGreat Historical Author:A. A. Gill
“I fell even more deeply in love with Tolkiens legendarium after studying Old English literature at uni, as I got a sense of the historical events and cultures that Tolkien used to create his world. My favourite of his imaginary locations is Lothlorien.” WorldUsedCultureLiteratureStudyEventsHistoricalFavouriteImaginaryLocationEnglish LiteratureOld EnglishHistorical EventsDeeply In Love Author:Samantha Shannon
“They [Arabs] wanted to catch up with the modern world. The West appreciated that, but was more interested in colonies, markets, and spheres of influence. Such is the way in which historical forces operate: the give and take between nations, as between cultures, is no simple exchange” WorldWayGivingWantedCultureForceNationsSimpleInfluenceModernHistoricalWestSpheresAppreciatedModern WorldColonyGive And TakeSphere Of Influence Author:Jabra Ibrahim Jabra