It is a socialist idea that making profits is a vice; I consider the real vice is making losses.
Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Tradition and innovation are both essential for art to thrive; one provides guidance while the other brings vitality.
Winston Churchill's quote emphasizes the importance of both tradition and innovation in the realm of art. Without the guidance and foundational knowledge provided by tradition, art becomes directionless and aimless, akin to a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Conversely, without innovation, art becomes stagnant and lifeless, much like a corpse, as it fails to evolve and reflect the dynamic nature of humanity and society. Together, tradition and innovation create a balance that enables art to flourish and inspire.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of the arts in education, one might quote Churchill to highlight the balance needed between honoring the past and encouraging new ideas.
More from Winston Churchill
All quotes βThe United States is like a gigantic boiler. Once the fire is lit under it, there's no limit to the power it can generate.
Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.
I will not pretend that if I had to choose between communism and Nazism I would choose communism.
Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.
True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
Similar quotes
Tell me what you'd like to hear me sing. I'll sing whatever you like, after which I'll take up a collection, if you don't mind.
People expect things from art that are horrible for us who make it! They put the things we make in these restrictive places called 'museums,' then don't want to hear another word from us.
Art is long, and time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave.
It is better to imitate ancient than modern work.
I try to use whatever I know about photography to be of service to the people I'm photographing.
The photo is a thing in itself. And that's what still photography is all about.