Let us face a pluralistic world in which there are no universal churches, no single remedy for all diseases, no one way to teach or write or sing, no magic diet, no world poets, and no chosen races, but only the wretched and wonderfully diversified human race.
It is only in the shadows, when some fresh wave, truly original, truly creative, breaks upon the shore, that there will be a rediscovery of the West.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the idea that true creativity emerges from exploring the unknown, which can lead to new understandings of established cultures.
Jacques Barzun suggests that genuine creativity often comes to light in unexpected or overlooked areas, particularly in times of darkness or uncertainty. This 'rediscovery of the West' implies that when innovative ideas arise amidst cultural stagnation, they can help reframe and revitalize established norms and perspectives, encouraging a deeper appreciation for original thought and artistic expression.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about innovation, a leader might refer to this quote to emphasize the importance of looking beyond traditional ideas.
More from Jacques Barzun
All quotes βMachines are admirable and tyrannize only with the user's consent. Where, then, is the enemy? Not where the machine gives relief from drudgery but where human judgment abdicates. The smoothest machine-made product of the age is the organization man, for even the best organizing principle tends to corrupt, and the mechanical principle corrupts absolutely.
In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.
I can only think that the book is read because it deals with the difficulties of schooling, which do not change. Please note: the difficulties, not the problems. Problems are solved or disappear with the revolving times. Difficulities remain. It will always be difficult to teach well, to learn accurately; to read, write, and count readily and competently; to acquire a sense of history and start one's education or anothers.
Convince yourself that you are working in clay, not marble, on paper not eternal bronze: Let that first sentence be as stupid as it wishes.
The world has long observed that small acts of immorality, if repeated, will destroy character. It is equally manifest, though never said, that uttering nonsense and half-truth without cease ends by destroying Intellect
Similar quotes
What is the society we wish to protect? Is it the society of complete surveillance for the commonwealth? Is this the wealth we seek to have in common - optimal security at the cost of maximal surveillance?
Intellectually, human beings and animals may be different, but it's pretty obvious that animals have a rich emotional life and that they feel joy and pain. It's easy to forget the connection between a hamburger and the cow it came from. But I forced myself to acknowledge the fact that every time I ate a hamburger, a cow had ceased to breathe
When I dance, I dance; when I sleep, I sleep; yes, and when I walk alone in a beautiful orchard, if my thoughts drift to far-off matters for some part of the time for some other part I lead them back again to the walk, the orchard, to the sweetness of this solitude, to myself.
Hanging one scoundrel, it appears, does not deter the next. Well, what of it? The first one is at least disposed of.
It is life, more than death, that has no limits.
I'm the kind of person who jumps around when he talks because everything is connected.