“In those days I, Virgil, was nursed of sweet Parthenope, and rejoiced in the arts of inglorious ease.”
Illo Vergilium me tempore dulcis alebat
Parthenope studiis florentem ignobilis oti.
Book IV, lines 563–564 (tr. Fairclough)
Georgics (29 BC)
Upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland (1650)
“In those days I, Virgil, was nursed of sweet Parthenope, and rejoiced in the arts of inglorious ease.”
Illo Vergilium me tempore dulcis alebat
Parthenope studiis florentem ignobilis oti.
Book IV, lines 563–564 (tr. Fairclough)
Georgics (29 BC)
“In a day of peace, let us advance the arts of peace and the works of peace.”
Daniel Webster (1782–1852) Leading American senator and statesman. January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852. Served as the Secretary of Sta…
The last sentence of this quote is incised in marble on the wall of the United States House of Representatives chamber, directly behind the Speaker's chair (with the word "develop" spelled with a final "e").
Address on Laying the Cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument (1825)
Context: Our proper business is improvement. Let our age be the age of improvement. In a day of peace, let us advance the arts of peace and the works of peace. Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered.
“The Art of Peace begins with you.”
Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) founder of aikido
As quoted in Inspire! What Great Leaders Do (2004) by Lance Secretan, p. 45
Context: The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all than you encounter.
“I declare peace the greatest work of art.”
Wolf Vostell (1932–1998) German painter and sculptor
Wolf Vostell (1980) Wolf Vostell : de-collagen; Verwischungen. p. 23
Original: Ich erkläre den Frieden zum größten Kunstwerk.
Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) founder of aikido
Speaking of a vision of the "Great Spirit of Peace" in 1942, during World War II, as quoted in Adjusting Though Reflex : Romancing Zen (2010) by Rodger Hyodo, p. 76
Context: The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter — it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.
Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) founder of aikido
The Art of Peace (1992)
Context: The Art of Peace is the principle of nonresistance. Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning. Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished. The Art of Peace is invincible because it contends with nothing.
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German poet, playwright, theatre director
"Freedom for Whom", as translated in Brecht on Brecht : An Improvisation (1967) by George Tabori, p. 18
Context: Firebugs dragging their gasoline bottles
Are approaching the Academy of Arts, with a grin.
And so, instead of embracing them, Let us demand the freedom of the elbow
To knock the bottles out of their filthy hands.
Even the most blockheaded bureaucrat,
Provided he loves peace,
Is a greater lover of the arts
Than any so-called art-lover
Who loves the arts of war.
“Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter.”
Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) founder of aikido
The Art of Peace (1992)
Ned Rorem (1923–2022) American composer
Being Alone http://books.google.com/books?id=IKgYAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Art's+the+biggest+vanity+the+assumption+that+one's+view+of+peace+or+fright+or+beauty+is+permanently+communicable%22&pg=PA21#v=onepage, The Ontario Review (Spring/Summer 1980)