Simplicity is not a goal, but one arrives at simplicity in spite of oneself, as one approaches the real meaning of things.
Herbert ReadRead
It was play rather than work which enabled man to evolve his higher faculties - everything we mean by the word 'culture'.
Interpretation
Culture is developed through play, not merely through work.
Herbert Read emphasizes that the development of human creativity, intellect, and culture arises from play and leisure activities, rather than the toil of labor. He suggests that it is through playful exploration and experimentation that individuals cultivate their higher faculties, shaping the essence of what defines culture itself.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of arts in education, this quote can highlight the role of play in fostering creativity.
Simplicity is not a goal, but one arrives at simplicity in spite of oneself, as one approaches the real meaning of things.
That is why I believe that art is so much more significant than either economics or philosophy. It is the direct measure of man's spiritual vision.
The worth of a civilization or a culture is not valued in the terms of its material wealth or military power, but by the quality and achievements of its representative individuals - its philosophers, its poets and its artists.
I can speak of my own criterion for judging whether or not a book is good or bad. I ask of it a single question, From how deep and true an impulse did it spring? Was it written merely to shock? Only to make money? Or was it written to create something more perfect and more lasting than the life experience from which it came?
Learn how to cook! That's the way to save money. You don't save it buying hamburger helpers, and prepared foods; you save it by buying fresh foods in season or in large supply, when they are cheapest and usually best, and you prepare them from scratch at home. Why pay for someone else's work, when if you know how to do it, you can save all that money for yourself?
You write for two people, yourself and your audience, who are usually better educated and at least as smart.
The only thing worse than not reading a book in the last ninety days is not reading a book in the last ninety days and thinking that it doesn't matter
Let us have "sweet girl graduates" by all means. They will be none the less sweet for a little wisdom; and the "golden hair" will not curl less gracefully outside the head by reason of there being brains within.
The only important thing in a book is the meaning that it has for you.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.