And yet one can't forever stand on the shore; at some point, even if filled with indecision, skepticism, reservation and doubt, you either jump in or concede that life is forever elsewhere. Arthur Miller More Quotes by Arthur Miller More Quotes From Arthur Miller God really does take our work seriously: It is wrong, it is a sin, to accept or remain in a position that you know is a mismatch for you. Perhaps that's a form of sin you've never considered - the sin of staying in the wrong job. But God did not place you on the earth to waste away your years in labor that does not employ his design or purpose for your life, no matter how much you may be getting paid for it. Arthur Miller design jobs years The job is to ask questions - it always was - and to ask them as inexorably as I can. And to face the absence of precise answers with a certain humility. Arthur Miller questions-and-answers humility jobs Can anyone remember love? It's like trying to summon up the smell of roses in a cellar. You might see a rose, but never the perfume. Arthur Miller smell rose best-friend The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always. Arthur Miller embarrassing best-work writing As a writer, I've always believed that while my work and I myself are embedded in whatever period I am writing about, clearly I am sensitive to the winds that are blowing in the culture. At the same time, I have always felt that the issue was not to deal with the problem in the abstract, but to deal with the people who are in that problem. The emphasis is on the people. The general problem begins to resolve itself even before the play is finished. Arthur Miller issues writing wind The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less. Arthur Miller stuck apples tree We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! Arthur Miller crazy writing children I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it. Arthur Miller hysteria crucible judging The best of our theater is standing on tiptoe, striving to see over the shoulders of father and mother. The worst is exploiting and wallowing in the self-pity of adolescence and obsessive keyhole sexuality. The way out, as the poet says, is always through. Arthur Miller self mother father When today fails to offer the justification for hope, tomorrow becomes the only grail worth pursuing. Arthur Miller tomorrow memorable today I have made more friends for American culture than the State Department. Certainly I have made fewer enemies, but that isn't very difficult. Arthur Miller states culture enemy What is the most innocent place in any country? Is it not the insane asylum? These people drift through life truly innocent, unable to see into themselves at all. Arthur Miller insane country people By whatever means it is accomplished, the prime business of a play is to arouse the passions of its audience so that by the route of passion may be opened up new relationships between a man and men, and between men and Man. Drama is akin to the other inventions of man in that it ought to help us to know more, and not merely to spend our feelings. Arthur Miller passion business drama I'm sure there are writers who are great businessmen, but I Arthur Miller great-business mets businessman Well, all the plays that I was trying to write were plays that would grab an audience by the throat and not release them, rather than presenting an emotion which you could observe and walk away from. Arthur Miller play writing trying Playwriting is an oral art; it's not an art of a writer expecting to be read but a writer expecting to be heard. Arthur Miller playwriting expecting art A play is made by sensing how the forces in life simulate ignorance-you set free the concealed irony, the deadly joke. Arthur Miller ignorance play writing The Crucible became by far my most frequently produced play, both abroad and at home. Its meaning is somewhat different in different places and moments. I can almost tell what the political situation in a country is when the play is suddenly a hit there it is either a warning of tyranny on the way or a reminder of tyranny just past. Arthur Miller home country past Self-realization and self-fulfilment are the sine qua non for human existence. Arthur Miller existence realization self I regard the theatre as a serious business, one that makes or should make man more human, which is to say, less alone. Arthur Miller serious-business theatre men
