Authors:

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

John Ruskin Quotes - Page 12

All Quotes Age Ambition Anger Appearance Appreciation Architecture Art Atheism Beauty Business Change Character Charity Children Choices Christ Country Creation Darkness Death Design Desire Dignity Discipline Doubt Duty Education Effort Energy Evil Feelings Generosity Genius Giving God Greatness Happiness Hate Heart Heaven History Home Honesty Honor House Humanity Humility Hurt Idolatry Ignorance Imagination Imperfection Inspirational Intelligence Journey Judging Judgment Justice Kindness Knowledge Labor Labour Language Liberty Life Literature Love Lying Money Morality Morning Motivational Mountain Music Nature Obedience Pain Painting Passion Past Patience Peace Perfection Pleasure Politics Positive Power Praise Pride Progress Purity Purpose Quality Rain Reading Reality Religion Running Sacrifice School Science Simplicity Sin Slavery Sorrow Soul Success Teaching Time Truth Understanding Values Virtue Wall War Wealth Winning Wisdom Work Writing

The principle of all successful effort is to try to do not what is absolutely the best, but what is easily within our power, and suited for our temperament and condition.

The principle of all successful effort is to try to do not what is absolutely the best, but what is easily within our power, and suited for our temperament and condition.

Successful, Power, Best Effort

Our purity of taste is best tested by its universality, for if we can only admire this thing or that, we maybe use that our cause for liking is of a finite and false nature.

Taste, Causes, Purity

John Ruskin (2013). “Selections and Essays”, p.87, Courier Corporation

Know thyself, for through thyself only thou canst know God.

Self, Knowing God, Knows

John Ruskin (1860). “Modern Painters”, p.204

The fact of our deriving constant pleasure from whatever is a type or semblance of divine attributes, and from nothing but that which is so, is the most glorious of all that can be demonstrated of human nature; it not only sets a great gulf of specific separation between us and the lower animals, but it seems a promise of a communion ultimately deep, close, and conscious, with the Being whose darkened manifestations we here feebly and unthinkingly delight in.

Animal, Promise, Delight

John Ruskin (1858). “Modern Painters: (pt.3) Of ideas of beauty”, p.86

Your labor only may be sold, your soul must not.

Soul, Individuality, May

John Ruskin (1905). “The Complete Works of John Ruskin”

It is not the weariness of mortality, but the strength of divinity, which we have to recognize in all mighty things; and that is just what we now never recognize, but think that we are to do great things by help of iron bars and perspiration. Alas! we shall do nothing that way but lose some pounds of our own weight.

Power, Thinking, Iron

John Ruskin, Louisa Caroline Tuthill (1858). “The true and the beautiful in nature, art, morals, and religion”, p.317

The artist's business is to feel, although he may think a little sometimes... when he has nothing better to do.

Business, Artist, Thinking

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.

Children, Want, Kingdoms

"Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers". Book by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, p. 269, 1895.

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity.

Sarcastic, Flower, Humanity

John Ruskin (1873). “Modern Painters”, p.94

The virtue of the imagination is its reaching, by intuition and intensity, a more essential truth than is seen at the surface of things.

Imagination, Intuition, Essentials

John Ruskin (2013). “Ruskin as Literary Critic”, p.124, Cambridge University Press

No false knight or lying priest ever prospered, I believe, in any age, but certainly not in the dark ones. Men prospered then, only in following openly-declared purposes , and preaching candidly beloved and trusted creeds.

Love, Birthday, Lying

"The Complete Works of John Ruskin".

Come, ye cold winds, at January's call, On whistling wings, and with white flakes bestrew The earth.

Wind, Wings, White

John Ruskin (1903). “The Works of John Ruskin”

No human being, however great, or powerful, was ever so free as a fish.

Powerful, Lakes, Sea

John Ruskin (1871). “Selections from the Writings of John Ruskin”, p.336

The secret of language is the secret of sympathy, and its full charm is possible only to the gentle

Sympathy, Communication, Secret

John Ruskin (1872). “Lectures on Art, Delivered Before the University of Oxford in Hilary Term, 1870”, p.72

Without mountains the air could not be purified, nor the flowing of the rivers sustained.

Air, Rivers, Mountain

John Ruskin (1856). “Modern Painters ...: pt. 5. Of mountain beauty”, p.92

Architecture is the work of nations

Architecture, Nations

John Ruskin (2013). “The Stones of Venice - Volume I: The Foundations”, p.235, Cosimo, Inc.

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.

Children, Years, Literature

Time and Tide Letter 13 (1867)

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.

Education, Mean, Government

John Ruskin “Fors clavigera”

Morality does not depend on religion.

Atheism, Doe, Morality

Engraving then, is, in brief terms, the Art of Scratch.

Art, Scratches, Term

1870-85 Ariadne Florentina, lecture1.

The Spirit power begins in directing the Animal power to other than egoistic ends.

Spiritual, Animal, Power

"Fors Clavigera: Letters to the Workmen and Labourers of Great Britain".

It is his restraint that is honorable to a person, not their liberty.

Liberty, Literature, Honorable

Work first, and then rest.

Work, Firsts

John Ruskin (1849). “The Seven Lamps of Architecture”, p.109

It is eminently a weariable faculty, eminently delicate, and incapable of bearing fatigue; so that if we give it too many objects at a time to employ itself upon, or very grand ones for a long time together, it fails under the effort, becomes jaded, exactly as the limbs do by bodily fatigue, and incapable of answering any farther appeal till it has had rest.

Time, Failure, Long

John Ruskin (1850). “Modern Painters: pt. 4. Of many things”, p.139

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.

Strong, Inspiration, Men

John Ruskin, John D. Rosenberg (1964). “The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings”, p.68, University of Virginia Press

You May Also Like: