“Whatever the imagination seizes as Beauty must be truth -whether it existed before or not”

—  John Keats

Last update Sept. 21, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Whatever the imagination seizes as Beauty must be truth -whether it existed before or not" by John Keats?
John Keats photo
John Keats211
English Romantic poet 1795–1821

Related quotes

John Keats photo

“I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections and the truth of imagination — what the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth — whether it existed before or not.”

John Keats (1795–1821) English Romantic poet

Letter to Benjamin Bailey (November 22, 1817)
Letters (1817–1820)

Donna Tartt photo

“Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.”

Donna Tartt book The Secret History

Variant: It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.
Source: The Secret History

Peter Kropotkin photo

“We must recognize, and loudly proclaim, that every one, whatever his grade in the old society, whether strong or weak, capable or incapable, as, before everything, THE RIGHT TO LIVE, and that society is bound to share amongst all, without exception, the means of existence at its disposal.”

Peter Kropotkin book The Conquest of Bread

Source: The Conquest of Bread (1892), Ch. 2 : Well-Being for All, p. 71

“Concerning the truth at hand he (Socrates) was saying, yes, surely, it is a truth a reason or a truth of fact, but before I offer it I must discover whether it is a personal truth and a part of myself, for otherwise I must leave its enunciation to others.”

David L. Norton (1930–1995) American philosopher

Source: Personal Destinies: A Philosophy of Ethical Individualism (1976), pp. 7-8

John Rogers Searle photo

“Whatever is referred to must exist. Let us call this the axiom of existence.”

John Rogers Searle Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language

Source: Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language (1969), P. 77.

Denis Diderot photo

“Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank among the most sublime and useless truths.”

Denis Diderot (1713–1784) French Enlightenment philosopher and encyclopædist

Alfred Russel Wallace photo

“But whether there be a God and whatever be His nature; whether we have an immortal soul or not, or whatever may be our state after death, I can have no fear of having to suffer for the study of nature and the search for truth”

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist

Letter to a relative, (1861).
Context: I think I have fairly heard and fairly weighed the evidence on both sides, and I remain an utter disbeliever in almost all that you consider the most sacred truths [... ] I can see much to admire in all religions [... ] But whether there be a God and whatever be His nature; whether we have an immortal soul or not, or whatever may be our state after death, I can have no fear of having to suffer for the study of nature and the search for truth.

Poul Anderson photo

““At least we can put a little sense into life.”
“I don’t know whether we do or whether we find what was always there,” he replied. “Nor do I care greatly. To me, the important thing is that the purpose—order, beauty, spirit, whatever you want to call it—does exist.””

Poul Anderson book The Enemy Stars

Source: The Enemy Stars (1959), Chapter 18 (p. 148)

“Hold fast to whatever fragments of love that exist, for sometimes a mosaic is more beautiful than an unbroken pattern.”

Dawn Powell (1896–1965) American writer

Mwanandeke Kindembo photo

“The truth lose its beauty once it's visible before your eyes.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Related topics