Ferdydurke
The Writing of Fiction (1925), ch. I
“Our torments also may in length of time
Become our Elements.”
Source: Paradise Lost
Interview with Einstein (1930)
Context: Our passions and desires are unruly, but our character subdues these elements into a harmonious whole. Does something similar to this happen in the physical world? Are the elements rebellious, dynamic with individual impulse? And is there a principle in the physical world which dominates them and puts them into an orderly organization? … It is the constant harmony of chance and determination which makes it eternally new and living.
“We must recover the element of quality in our traditional pursuit of equality.”
Speech to the United Parents Association, as quoted in The New York Times (6 April 1958)
Context: We must recover the element of quality in our traditional pursuit of equality. We must not, in opening our schools to everyone, confuse the idea that all should have equal chance with the notion that all have equal endowments.
“The ludicrous element in our feeling does not make them any less authentic.”
Source: Encounter
“Unhappiness is our element. We come to believe we can't function without it.”
How to Save Your Own Life (1977)
quote, p. 378
posthumous publications, El Lissitzky, El Lissitzky : Life, Letters, Texts (1967; 1980)
