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The world is full of vulgar Purists, who bring discredit on all selection by the silliness of their choice and this the more, because the very becoming a Purist is commonly indicative of some slight degree of weakness, readiness to be offended, or narrowness of understanding of the ends of things.

John Ruskin

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John Ruskin
Age: 80 †
Born: 1819
Born: February 8
Died: 1900
Died: January 20
Aesthetician
Architect
Art Critic
Art Historian
Journalist
Literary Critic
Painter
Philosopher
Poet
Sociologist
University Teacher
Writer
London
England
Kata Phusin
Rŏsŭkʻin
J. Ruskin
John Rosukin
Jon Rasukin
Dzhon Rëskin
Ruskin
Choices
Selection
Narrowness
Understanding
Degree
Silliness
Ends
Degrees
Discredit
Things
Weakness
Readiness
World
Choice
Slight
Becoming
Commonly
Purists
Bring
Offended
Purist
Full
Vulgar
Indicative

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Like other beautiful things in this world, its end (that of a shaft) is to be beautiful and, in proportion to its beauty, it receives permission to be otherwise useless. We do not blame emeralds and rubies because we cannot make them into heads of hammers.
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Depend upon it, the first universal characteristic of all great art is Tenderness, as the second is Truth.
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We may live without her, and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her. How cold is all history, how lifeless all imagery, compared to that which the living nation writes, and the uncorrupted marble bears!
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To speak and act truth with constancy and precision is nearly as difficult, and perhaps as meretorious, as to speak it under intimidation or penalty
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He who has truth at his heart need never fear the want of persuasion on his tongue.
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It is impossible to tell you the perfect sweetness of the lips and closed eyes, nor the solemnity of the seal of death which is set upon the whole figure. It is, in every way, perfect--truth itself, but truth selected with inconceivable refinement of feeling.
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All the other passions do occasional good, but whenever pride puts in its word, everything goes wrong, and what it might really be desirable to do, quietly and innocently, it is mortally dangerous to do, proudly.
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There is a working class - strong and happy - among both rich and poor: there is an idle class - weak, wicked, and miserable - among both rich and poor.
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If the design of the building be originally bad, the only virtue it can ever possess will be signs of antiquity.
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The path of a good woman is indeed strewn with flowers but they rise behind her steps, not before them.
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Architecture concerns itself only with those characters of an edifice which are above and beyond its common use.
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Some slaves are scoured to their work by whips, others by their restlessness and ambition.
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Every great man is always being helped by everybody, for his gift is to get good out of all things and all persons.
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No human being, however great, or powerful, was ever so free as a fish.
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You cannot get anything out of nature or from God by gambling only out of your neighbor.
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No one can ask honestly or hopefully to be delivered from temptation unless he has himself honestly and firmly determined to do the best he can to keep out of it.
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There is no music in a “rest” that I know of, but there's the making of music in it. And people are always missing that part of the life melody.
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It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride.
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You may either win your peace or buy it: win it, by resistance to evil buy it, by compromise with evil.
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It does not matter what the whip is it is none the less a whip, because you have cut thongs for it out of your own souls.
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