#nit

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are engines of change (as the poet said), windows on the world and lighthouses erected in the sea of time. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print. [Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Nov. 1980), pp. 16-32] ↗

— Barbara W. Tuchman

#civilization #humanity #literature #mind #thought

To me, history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of our civic responsibility. To me, it's an enlargement of the experience of being alive, just the way literature or art or music is. ↗

— David McCullough

#civic-responsibility #history #humanity #life #mankind

Avant-garde is French for bullshit ↗

— John Lennon

#definitions #art

Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate. ↗

— Sun Tzu

#people #predictability #surprise #art

Absurdity is the ecstasy of intellectualism. ↗

— Criss Jami

#absurdity #art #artist #ecstasy #experiment

You can’t enjoy art or books in a hurry. ↗

— E.A. Bucchianeri

#arts #arts-and-humanities #book #books #culture

A dog has one aim in life... to bestow his heart. ↗

— J.R. Ackerley

#dog #doglovers #humanity #kindness #love

What I know about my country is that when America is challenged, we rise to the occasion. When we’re fearful, we become divided. When we’re courageous and have good leadership, we unite. ↗

— Keith Ellison

#inspirational #politics #politics-of-the-united-states #courage

A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God. An art work can be a doxology in itself. ↗

— Francis A. Schaeffer

#christianity #art

Poetry, like jazz, is one of those dazzling diamonds of creative industry that help human beings make sense out of the comedies and tragedies that contextualize our lives. ↗

— Aberjhani

#cultural-arts #famous-poets #humanity #jazz #jazz-appreciation-month