The dialectic cannot stop short before the conceptsof health and sickness, nor indeed before their siblings reason and unreason.
Roscoe was spiritually illegal, a bootlegger of the soul, a mythic creature made of words and wit and wild deeds and boundless memory.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote speaks to the unique and often rebellious nature of a person's spirit and creativity.
William Kennedy's quote describes a character named Roscoe, portraying him as a vibrant and unconventional individual who transcends conventional norms. The phrase 'spiritually illegal' suggests that his essence and impulses challenge societal boundaries, while 'bootlegger of the soul' implies he illicitly nurtures and shares deep, meaningful experiences. This expression highlights the richness of personality and creativity, celebrating those who boldly embrace their individuality despite societal expectations.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a creative writing workshop to inspire participants to embrace their unique voice.
Similar quotes
Psychoanalysis has taught that the dead β a dead parent, for example β can be more alive for us, more powerful, more scary, than the living. It is the question of ghosts.
We have to build the Republic of Heaven where we are, because for us there is no elsewhere.
He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars: general Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, and flatterer, for Art and Science cannot exist but in minutely organized Particulars.
Similarly, knowledge of the future was incompatible with free will. What made it possible for me to exercise freedom of choice also made it impossible for me to know the future. Conversely, now that I know the future, I would never act contrary to that future, including telling others what I know: those who know the future don't talk about it. Those who've read the Book of Ages never admit to it.
Gradually, ... the aspect of science as knowledge is being thrust into the background by the aspect of science as the power of manipulating nature. It is because science gives us the power of manipulating nature that it has more social importance than art. Science as the pursuit of truth is the equal, but not the superior, of art. Science as a technique, though it may have little intrinsic value, has a practical importance to which art cannot aspire.