Of true knowledge at any time, a good part is merely convenient, necessary indeed to the worker, but not to an understanding of his subject: One can judge a building without knowing where to buy the bricks; one can understand a violin sonata without knowing how to score for the instrument. The work may in fact be better understood without a knowledge of the details of its manufacture, of attention to these tends to distract from meaning and effect.
Jacques BarzunI'll read, and then I'll take naps. When I feel sleep coming on, I give in and don't fight it.
Jacques BarzunGrab a pen and put down some words - your name even - and a title: something to see, to revise, to carve, to do over in the opposite way
Jacques BarzunWe cannot appreciate the art of any age without first acquiring an equivalent of the experience it depicts.
Jacques Barzun