“If the artist did not know his goal, even the most miraculous of tools could not find it for him.”

— Arthur C. Clarke, book The City and the Stars

Source: The City and the Stars (1956), Chapter 2 (p. 13)

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Arthur C. Clarke207

British science fiction writer, science writer, inventor, u… 1917–2008

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“If the resistances in one direction are impossible to overcome, then the artist’s invention and powers of expression turn to a goal the way to which is not obstructed, and it is very unusual for him even to be aware of the fact that his achievement is a substitute for the real thing. Even in the most liberal democracy the artist does not move with perfect freedom and unrestraint; even there he is restricted by innumerable considerations foreign to his art. The different measure of freedom may be of the greatest importance for him personally but in principle there is no difference between the dictates of a despot and the conventions of even the most liberal social order. If force in itself were contrary to the spirit of art, perfect works of art could arise only in a state of complete anarchy. But in reality the presuppositions on which the aesthetic quality of a work depends lie beyond the alternative presented by political freedom and compulsion.”

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“Life, even the hardest life, is the most beautiful, wonderful, and miraculous treasure in the world.”

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“I coulda got mad. But then I had to stop and think, well, what did he get in school? What did he get in his work experience? What did he get even from his own union, that gave him some tools to understand what he was seeing on that television?”

Utah Phillips (1935–2008) American labor organizer, folk singer, storyteller and poet

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“If the artist did not know his goal, even the most miraculous of tools could not find it for him.”

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