“I sat, just watching the moon creep up, and hearing the thin, dry rustle of the leaves along the holly hedge. And there came to me this thought: What is this Universe — that never had beginning and will never have an end — but a myriad striving to perfect pictures never the same, so blending and fading one into another, that all form one great perfected picture? And what are we — ripples on the tides of a birthless, deathless, equipoised Creative-Purpose — but little works of Art?”

— John Galsworthy

Vague Thoughts On Art (1911)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I sat, just watching the moon creep up, and hearing the thin, dry rustle of the leaves along the holly hedge. And there…" by John Galsworthy?

John Galsworthy photo

John Galsworthy 48

English novelist and playwright 1867–1933

Related quotes

“We thought all the time that we were passing through time when we really weren’t, when we never have. We’ve just been moving along with time. We said, there’s another second gone, there’s another minute and another hour and another day, when, as a matter of fact the second or the minute or the hour was never gone. It was the same one all the time. It had just moved along and we had moved with it.”

Clifford D. Simak book City

Source: City (1952), Chapter 7, “Aesop” (p. 207)

“So what are we saying?
Our Eden's a failure.
A made-up story to fit the picture-perfect world.
The one with "I do"s and "I love you."
And "we are made for each other."”

Sarah McLachlan (1968) Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter

Is forever over now?
U Want Me 2, written by Sarah McLachlan and Pierre Marchand
Song lyrics, Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan (2008)

“Recently I have felt just what the mood of colors means to me: it means that everything in this picture changes its local color according to the same principle and that thereby all muted tones blend in a unified relationship, one to the other.”

Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) German artist

excerpt of her Journal, Worpswede, 24 July 1898; as quoted in Voicing our visions, – Writings by women artists; ed. Mara R. Witzling, Universe New York, 1991, p. 197
1898

“In another's eyes I'm afraid that I can't see
This picture perfect portrait that they paint of me.
They don't realize and I pray they never do,
'Cause every time I look I'm seein' you
In another's eyes.”

Garth Brooks (1962) American country music artist

In Another's Eyes, written by Bobby Wood, John Peppard, and G. Brooks, duet with Trisha Yearwood.
Song lyrics, Sevens (1997)

“What business had I to think of one that never thought of me?”

Anne Brontë book Agnes Grey

Source: Agnes Grey

“You've never in your life seen a picture, I bet any one of you, never seen a picture of one of these old Pilgrims praying when they didn't have a gun right by the side of them. That was to see that he got what he was praying for.”

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist and entertainer

radio broadcast (14 April 1935)
Other

“Lord Peter Wimsey: Your mother, Bunter? Oh, I never knew you had one. I always thought you just sort of came along already-made, so it were.”

Dorothy L. Sayers book Clouds of Witness

Clouds of Witness (1926)

“I say, life and figure are distinct attributes of one substance, and as one and the same body may be transmuted into all kinds of figures; and as the perfecter figure comprehends that which is more imperfect; so one and the same body may be transmuted from one degree of life to another more perfect, which always comprehends in it the inferior. We have an example of figure in a triangular prism, which is the first figure of all right lined solid triangular prism, which is the first figure of all right lined solid bodies, where into a body is convertible; and from this into a cube, which is a perfecter figure, and comprehends in it a prism; from a cube it may be turned into a more perfect figure, which comes nearer to a globe, and from this into another, which is yet nearer; and so it ascends from one figure, more imperfect to another more perfect, ad infinitum; for here are no bounds; nor can it be said, this body cannot be changed into a perfecter figure: But the meaning is that that body consists of plane right lines; and this is always chageablee into a perfecter figure, and yet can never reach to the perfection of a globe, although it always approaches nearer unto it; the case is the same in diverse degrees of life, which have indeed a beginning, but no end; so that the creature is always capable of a farther and perfecter degree of life, ad infinitum, and yet can never attain to be equal with God; for he is still infinitely more perfect than a creature, in its highest elevation or perfection, even as a globe is the most perfect of all other figures, unto which none can approach.”

Anne Conway (1631–1679) British philosopher

The Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy (1690)

“She walked down the aisle with all eyes on her and she glowed
Someone chose her above all other women they had known
I can only wonder what it must be like to be
so perfect in a lover's eyes, the only one they see Well, it’s never been me, the chosen one
It’s never been me
If ever I see a chosen one I feel ugly”

Happy Rhodes (1965) American singer-songwriter

"Chosen One" - Live performance at The Tin Angel, Philadelphia PA (29 January 2005) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt4PTtcVh5s
Find Me (2007)

“I staggered through my career and came out the other end, alive. I made some films that meant something to me. In my opinion, they weren’t all great, and they weren’t all successful, but they sure were ‘me’. And this is what I was going through or thinking or feeling as a director at the time, and I’m very proud of them. A lot of great directors just never had the chance to have their work appreciated and celebrated and watched, all these years after they were made. So, man, what do you want out of life? It’s great!”

John Carpenter (1948) American film director, screenwriter and producer

The Den of Geek interview: John Carpenter http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/halloween/13379/the-den-of-geek-interview-john-carpenter (June 3, 2008)

Related topics