The greater the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion.

Quote by Walter Benjamin

Topics: Walter Benjamin Quotes

All disgust is originally disgust at touching.

All disgust is originally disgust at touching.

The true picture of the past flits by. The past can be seized only as...

The true picture of the past flits by. The past can be seized only as...

Memory is not an instrument for exploring the past but its theatre. It is the...

Memory is not an instrument for exploring the past but its theatre. It is the...

The only way of knowing a person is to love them without hope.

The only way of knowing a person is to love them without hope.

The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than...

The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than...

The art of storytelling is reaching its end because the epic side of truth, wisdom,...

The art of storytelling is reaching its end because the epic side of truth, wisdom,...

It is precisely the purpose of the public opinion generated by the press to make...

It is precisely the purpose of the public opinion generated by the press to make...

The idea that happiness could have a share in beauty would be too much of...

The idea that happiness could have a share in beauty would be too much of...

Genuine polemics approach a book as lovingly as a cannibal spices a baby.

Genuine polemics approach a book as lovingly as a cannibal spices a baby.

The destructive character lives from the feeling, not that life is worth living, but that...

The destructive character lives from the feeling, not that life is worth living, but that...

Death is the sanction of everything the story-teller can tell. He has borrowed his authority...

Death is the sanction of everything the story-teller can tell. He has borrowed his authority...

Of all the ways of acquiring books, writing them oneself is regarded as the most...

Of all the ways of acquiring books, writing them oneself is regarded as the most...

The adjustment of reality to the masses and of the masses to reality is a...

The adjustment of reality to the masses and of the masses to reality is a...

Work on good prose has three steps: a musical stage when it is composed, an...

Work on good prose has three steps: a musical stage when it is composed, an...

Counsel woven into the fabric of real life is wisdom.

Counsel woven into the fabric of real life is wisdom.

Books and harlots have their quarrels in public.

Books and harlots have their quarrels in public.

Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector's passion borders on the chaos of...

Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector's passion borders on the chaos of...

We have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure.

We have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure.

To study history means submitting to chaos and nevertheless retaining faith in order and meaning.

To study history means submitting to chaos and nevertheless retaining faith in order and meaning.

You can reconstruct the picture from chaos and memory's ruins.

You can reconstruct the picture from chaos and memory's ruins.