The pleasure we derive from the representation of the present is due, not only to the beauty it can be clothed in, but also to its essential quality of being the present.

Quote by Charles Baudelaire

Topics: Charles Baudelaire Quotes

Modernity is the transient, the fleeting, the contingent; it is one half of art, the...

Modernity is the transient, the fleeting, the contingent; it is one half of art, the...

It is necessary to work, if not from inclination, at least from despair. Everything considered,...

It is necessary to work, if not from inclination, at least from despair. Everything considered,...

Whether you come from heaven or hell, what does it matter, O Beauty!

Whether you come from heaven or hell, what does it matter, O Beauty!

There are in every man, at every hour, two simultaneous postulations, one towards God, the...

There are in every man, at every hour, two simultaneous postulations, one towards God, the...

In order for the artist to have a world to express he must first be...

In order for the artist to have a world to express he must first be...

Even if it were proven that God didn't exist, Religion would still be Saintly and...

Even if it were proven that God didn't exist, Religion would still be Saintly and...

Modernity is the transitory, the fugitive, the contingent, which make up one half of art,...

Modernity is the transitory, the fugitive, the contingent, which make up one half of art,...

The poet enjoys the incomparable privilege of being able to be himself and others, as...

The poet enjoys the incomparable privilege of being able to be himself and others, as...

Nature... is nothing but the inner voice of self-interest.

Nature... is nothing but the inner voice of self-interest.

I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy.

I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy.

Progress, this great heresy of decay.

Progress, this great heresy of decay.

Any man who does not accept the conditions of life sells his soul.

Any man who does not accept the conditions of life sells his soul.

I have more memories than if I were a thousand years old.

I have more memories than if I were a thousand years old.

It would be difficult for me not to conclude that the most perfect type of...

It would be difficult for me not to conclude that the most perfect type of...

An artist is an artist only because of his exquisite sense of beauty, a sense...

An artist is an artist only because of his exquisite sense of beauty, a sense...

To handle a language skillfully is to practice a kind of evocative sorcery.

To handle a language skillfully is to practice a kind of evocative sorcery.

Life has but one true charm: the charm of the game. But what if were...

Life has but one true charm: the charm of the game. But what if were...

There is no more steely barb than that of the Infinite.

There is no more steely barb than that of the Infinite.

Common sense tells us that the things of the earth exist only a little, and...

Common sense tells us that the things of the earth exist only a little, and...

But a dandy can never be a vulgar man.

But a dandy can never be a vulgar man.