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The pursuit of perfection, then, is the pursuit of sweetness and light.

Matthew Arnold

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Matthew Arnold
Age: 65 †
Born: 1822
Born: December 24
Died: 1888
Died: April 15
Journalist
Literary Critic
Poet
School Inspector
University Teacher
Writer
Laleham
Surrey
Light
Perfectionism
Perfectionist
Sweetness
Pursuit
Perfection

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The uppermost idea with Hellenism is to see things as they really are the uppermost ideas with Hebraism is conduct and obedience.Nothing can do away with this ineffaceable difference. The Greek quarrel with the body and its desires is, that they hinder right thinking the Hebrew quarrel with them is, that they hinder right acting.
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Protestantism has the method of Jesus with His secret too much left out of mind Catholicism has His secret with His method too much left out of mind neither has His unerring balance, His intuition, His sweet reasonableness. But both have hold of a great truth, and get from it a great power.
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The hairy quadruped furnished with a tail and, pointed ears, probably arboreal in his habits, this good fellow carried hidden in his nature, apparently, something destined to develop into a necessity for humane letters.
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Grey time-worn marbles Hold the pure Muses. In their cool gallery, By yellow Tiber, They still look fair.
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To the Bible men will return and why? Because they cannot do without it.
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The power of the Latin classic is in character , that of the Greek is in beauty . Now character is capable of being taught, learnt, and assimilated: beauty hardly.
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For this is the true strength of guilty kings, When they corrupt the souls of those they rule.
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However, if I shall live to be eighty I shall probably be the only person left in England who reads anything but newspapers and scientific publications.
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Culture is properly described as the love of perfection it is a study of perfection.
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The world hath failed to impart the joy our youth forebodes failed to fill up the void which in our breasts we bear.
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But there remains the question: what righteousness really is. The method and secret and sweet reasonableness of Jesus.
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I keep saying, Shakespeare, Shakespeare, you are as obscure as life is.
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Truth sits upon the lips of dying men, And falsehood, while I lived, was far from mine.
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The eternal not ourselves that makes for righteousness.
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For the creation of a masterwork of literature two powers must concur, the power of the man and the power of the moment, and the man is not enough without the moment.
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Know, man hath all which Nature hath, but more, And in that more lie all his hopes of good.
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For poetry the idea is everything the rest is a world of illusion.
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Where great whales come sailing by, Sail and sail, with unshut eye, Round the world for ever and aye.
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On Sundays, at the matin-chime, The Alpine peasants, two and three, Climb up here to pray Burghers and dames, at summer's prime, Ride out to church from Chamberry, Dight with mantles gay, But else it is a lonely time Round the Church of Brou.
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To thee only God granted A heart ever new: To all always open To all always true.
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