As the clockwork of the millennia moved a notch in front of their eyes, it had taken their thoughts from small things and reminded them of how vulnerable they were to time.
He felt as if he were paying for the privilege of music with portions of his life and body. But it was well worth it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote conveys the idea that the experience of music can be so profound that one may feel they are sacrificing parts of themselves for it, but it's a worthy exchange.
In this quote, Mark Helprin articulates the deep connection and emotional investment one may feel towards music. It suggests that engaging with art, like music, can feel like a personal sacrifice, as it demands attention and emotional energy, yet ultimately provides immense joy and fulfillment, making the sacrifice worthwhile. This highlights the powerful impact art can have on human experience, evoking feelings that transcend mere enjoyment.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a music festival, one might say this quote to emphasize the transformative power of music.
More from Mark Helprin
All quotes βThey're not just dreams. Not anymore, I dream more than I wake now, and, at times, I have crossed over. Can't you see? I've been there.
their powerlessness, innocence, and imagination fused to enable them to turn time inside out, travel on the wind, and enter the souls of animals.
Youβll join me sooner than you know in a place with . . . no illusions, where the truth is the only architecture, the only color, the only sound--where that which we sense merely on occasion, and which takes us up and gives us the rare and beautiful glimpses of the things we truly love, flows in deep rivers and tumbles about like clouds in the sky.
Perhaps things are most beautiful when they are not quite real; when you look upon a scene as an outsider, and come to possess it in its entirety and forever; when you live in the present with the lucidity and feeling of memory; when, for want of connection, the world deepens and becomes art.
The horse could not do without Manhattan. It drew him like a magnet, like a vacuum, like oats, or a mare, or an open, never-ending, tree-lined road.
Similar quotes
There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
I have a great body, I really do. But I want to be taken seriously as an artist, and wearing anything that shows it off will be a distraction from the music. That's how my signature uniform, my tuxedo, came about. It's classic and timeless. You'll see me in black, white, and a pop of color on my lips. That pop adds a little magic.
To any artist, worthy of the name, all in nature is beautiful, because his eyes, fearlessly accepting all exterior truth, read there, as in an open book, all the inner truth.
I demand that a film express either the joy of making cinema or the agony of making cinema. I am not at all interested in anything in between.
There is a twinge of abandonment that comes with being a member of the African Diaspora. But 'Black Panther' fearlessly introduces and then complicates this and other deeply held albeit rarely expressed emotions; that indeed is what makes this film so profoundly innovative.
we're all golden sunflowers inside.