“Foolish critics often betray their ignorance by saying that a painter or a writer "only copies what he has seen, or puts down what he has known." They forget that no man imagines what he has not seen or known, and that it is in the selection of the characteristic details that the artistic power is manifested.”

The Principles of Success in Literature (1865)

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 "Foolish critics often betray their ignorance by saying that a painter or a writer "only copies what he has seen, or put…" by George Henry Lewes?
George Henry Lewes photo
George Henry Lewes 54
British philosopher 1817–1878

Related quotes

T. E. Hulme photo

“The artist tries to see what there is to be interested in… He has not created something, he has seen something.”

T. E. Hulme (1883–1917) English Imagist poet and critic

Source: Speculations (Essays, 1924)

Charles M. Schwab photo
Paul Valéry photo

“The painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen.”

Paul Valéry (1871–1945) French poet, essayist, and philosopher

Mauvaises Pensées et Autres (1941)

Marcus Aurelius photo
Ernest Hemingway photo

“A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it.”

Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American author and journalist

Nobel Prize Speech (1954)

Ernest Hemingway photo
Alain Robbe-Grillet photo

“The true writer has nothing to say. What counts is the way he says it.”

Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922–2008) 1922-2008 French agricultural engineer, filmmaker and writer
Jean Cocteau photo

“An original artist is unable to copy. So he has only to copy in order to be original.”

Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker

Le Coq et l’Arlequin (1918)

Winston S. Churchill photo

“Too often the strong, silent man is silent only because he does not know what to say, and is reputed strong only because he has remained silent.”

Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches (1974), Chelsea House, Volume IV: 1922–1928, p. 3462 ISBN 0835206939
Early career years (1898–1929)

Related topics