All great art is the expression of man's delight in God's work, not his own. John Ruskin More Quotes by John Ruskin More Quotes From John Ruskin In mortals there is a care for trifles which proceeds from love and conscience, and is most holy; and a care for trifles which comes of idleness and frivolity, and is most base. And so, also, there is a gravity proceeding from thought, which is most noble; and a gravity proceeding from dulness and mere incapability of enjoyment, which is most base. John Ruskin holynoblecare A forest of all manner of trees is poor, if not disagreeable, in effect; a mass of one species of tree is sublime. John Ruskin sublimeforeststree Commerce is the agency by which the power of choice is obtained. John Ruskin commerceagencychoices The man who says to one, go, and he goeth, and to another, come, and he cometh, has, in most cases, more sense of restraint and difficulty than the man who obeys him. John Ruskin caseshe-manmen Society has sacrificed its virtues to the Goddess of Getting Along. John Ruskin getting-alonggoddessvirtue No one can explain how the notes of a Mozart melody, or the folds of a piece of Titian's drapery, produce their essential effects. If you do not feel it, no one can by reasoning make you feel it. John Ruskin producepiecesessentials No divine terror will ever be found in the work of the man who wastes a colossal strength in elaborating toys; for the first lesson that terror is sent to teach us is, the value of the human soul, and the shortness of mortal time. John Ruskin lessonssoulmen All traveling becomes dull in exact proportion to its rapidity. John Ruskin proportiondull The power of association is stronger than the power of beauty; therefore, the power of association is the power of beauty. John Ruskin strongerassociationpower Repose demands for its expression the implied capability of its opposite,--energy. John Ruskin energyexpressionopposites Sky is the part of creation in which Nature has done more for the sake of pleasing man, more for the sole and evident purpose of talking to him and teaching him, than in any other of her works, and it is just the part in which we least attend to her. John Ruskin teachingskymen All great song, from the first day when human lips contrived syllables, has been sincere song. John Ruskin lipssongfirsts Anything which elevates the mind is sublime. Greatness of matter, space, power, virtue or beauty, are all sublime. John Ruskin greatnessspacemind 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. John Ruskin causestastepurity Perfect taste is the faculty of receiving the greatest possible pleasure from those material sources which are attractive to oar moral nature in its purity and perfection. John Ruskin receivingtasteperfect True taste is forever growing, learning, reading, worshipping, laying its hand upon its mouth because it is astonished, casting its shoes from off its feet because it finds all ground holy. John Ruskin readingfeethands Our respect for the dead, when they are just dead, is something wonderful, and the way we show it more wonderful still. We show it with black feathers and black horses; we show it with black dresses and black heraldries; we show it with costly obelisks and sculptures of sorrow, which spoil half of our beautiful cathedrals. We show it with frightful gratings and vaults, and lids of dismal stone, in the midst of the quiet grass; and last, and not least, we show it by permitting ourselves to tell any number of falsehoods we think amiable or credible in the epitaph. John Ruskin horsebeautifuldeath Butforme, theAlps and their peoplewerealikebeautiful in their snow, and their humanity; and I wanted, neither for them nor myself, sight of any thrones in heaven but the rocks, or of any spirits in heaven but the clouds. John Ruskin rockssightclouds The greatest efforts of the race have always been traceable to the love of praise, as the greatest catastrophes to the love of pleasure. John Ruskin effortracepraise When God shuts a door, He opens a window. John Ruskin doorswindow
