Quote#Art
The selective instinct of the artist tells him when his language…
Quote byGeorge Henry Lewes · 1817–1878
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The Principles of Success in Literature (1865).
English (original)
The selective instinct of the artist tells him when his language should be homely, and when it should be more elevated; and it is precisely in the imperceptible blending of the plain with the ornate that a great writer is distinguished. He uses the simplest phrases without triviality, and the grandest without a suggestion of grandiloquence.
— George Henry Lewes
More from George Henry Lewes
We must never assume that which is incapable of proof.
The greatest artist is he who is greatest in the highest reaches of his art, even although he may lack the qualities necessary for the adequate execution of some minor details. It is not by his faults, but by his excellences, that we …
Murder, like talent, seems occasionally to run in families.
Many a genius has been slow of growth. Oaks that flourish for a thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed.
The moral nature of man is more sacred in my eyes than his intellectual nature.
Shakespeare is a good raft whereon to float securely down the stream of time; fasten yourself to that and your immortality is safe.