The ear disapproves but tolerates certain musical pieces; transfer them into the domain of our nose, and we will be forced to flee.
Jean CocteauRead
The instinct of nearly all societies is to lock up anybody who is truly free. First, society begins by trying to beat you up. If this fails, they try to poison you. If this fails too, the finish by loading honors on your head.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on how societies often suppress true freedom through various means.
Jean Cocteau articulates a profound observation about the nature of freedom and the societal tendency to control it. Societies often respond to individuals who embody genuine freedom with hostility, first through aggression, then through more insidious means like manipulation or false praise. This highlights a paradox where the very traits that should be celebrated, such as independence and authenticity, are often met with resistance or attempts to conform individuals to societal expectations.
Themes
FreedomSocietyControlAuthenticityResistance
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about individuality, one might share this quote to emphasize the struggle against societal norms.
More from Jean Cocteau
All quotes βOne must be a living man and a posthumous artist.
Jean CocteauRead
All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.
Jean CocteauRead
Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts.
Jean CocteauRead
Listen carefully to first criticisms made of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.
Jean CocteauRead
Watch yourself all your life in a mirror and you'll see Death at work like bees in a glass hive.
Jean CocteauRead
Similar quotes
Was it for this the wild geese spread The gray wing upon every tide; For this that all that blood was shed, For this. Edward Fitzgerald died, And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone, All that delirium of the brave? Romantic Ireland's dead and gone, It's with O'Leary in the grave.
William Butler YeatsRead
The three Divine are in this hierarchy, First the Dominions, and the Virtues next;_x000D_ _x000D_ And the third order is that of the Powers. The in the dances twain penultimate_x000D_ _x000D_ The Principalities and Archangels wheel; The last is wholly of angelic sports._x000D_ _x000D_ These orders upward all of them are gazing,_x000D_ _x000D_ And downward so prevail, that unto God_x000D_ _x000D_ They all attracted are and all attract.
Dante AlighieriRead
God has cast our confessed sins into the depths of the sea, and He's even put a 'No Fishing' sign over the spot.
Dwight L. MoodyRead
I'm convinced that I'm a child of God. That's wonderful, exhilarating, liberating, full of promise. But the burden which goes along with that is, I'm convinced that everybody is a child of God. . . . I weep a lot. I thank God I laugh a lot, too. The main thing in one's own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry.
Maya AngelouRead
Prohibition is an attempted cure that makes matters worse - for both the addict and the rest of us.
Milton FriedmanRead
One day, it was suddenly revealed to me that everything is pure spirit.
RamakrishnaRead