But all categories of art, idealistic or realistic, surrealistic or constructivist (a new form of idealism) must satisfy a simple test (or they are in no sense works of art): they must persist as objects of contemplation.

The slave may be happy, but happiness is not enough.

The point I am making is that in the more primitive forms of society the individual is merely a unit; in more developed forms of society he is an independent personality.

The work of art... is an instrument for tilling the human psyche, that it may continue to yield a harvest of vital beauty.

An entertainment is something which distracts us or diverts us from the routine of daily life. It makes us for the time being forget our cares and worries; it interrupts our conscious thoughts and habits, rests our nerves and minds, though it may incidentally exhaust our bodies. Art, on the other hand, though it may divert us from the normal routine of our existence, causes us in some way or other to become conscious of that existence.

I call religion a natural authority, but it has usually been conceived as a supernatural authority.

Great changes in the destiny of mankind can be effected only in the minds of little children.