“We read the works of the older literature differently from those of our own age; we enjoy them purely aesthetically, that is, indirectly, disinterestedly, perfectly aware of their fictitiousness and of our self-deception.”
Source: The Social History of Art, Volume IV. Naturalism, impressionism, the film age, 1999, Chapter 1. Naturalism and Impressionism
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Arnold Hauser 34
Hungarian art historian 1892–1978Related quotes

Treasury of Wisdom, Wit and Humor, Odd Comparisons and Proverbs: Authors, 931 ; Subjects, 1393 ; Quotations, 10, 200, p. 399

Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming (2013)

Source: Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (1999), p. 52

“Are the details of our lives who we are, or is it owning those details that makes the difference?”
Source: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Introduction
The Portable Matthew Arnold (Viking Press, 1949)