Herbert Read
Herbert Read
Sir Herbert Edward Read, DSO, MCwas an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philospher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read was co-founder of the Institute of Contemporary Arts. He was one of the earliest English writers to take notice of existentialism...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
thinking imagination mind
Fantasy is a product of thought, Imagination of sensibility. If the thinking, discursive mind turns to speculation, the result isFantasy; if, however, the sensitive, intuitive mind turns to speculation, the result is Imagination. Fantasy may be visionary, but it is cold and logical. Imagination is sensuous and instinctive. Both have form, but the form of Fantasy is analogous to Exposition, that of Imagination to Narrative.
art imagination erotic
An enormous amount of art and literature is erotic in the sense that it stimulates vague sexual emotions, but it has no pornographic intention or effect because "it leaves everything to the imagination." The consumer has to invent his own images, and it is felt, I do not know with what justification, that there is no harm in this.
earliest group nomadic point primitive records species
The earliest records of our species point to group organizations - the primitive horde, nomadic tribes, settlements, communities, cities, nations.
military artist civilization
The worth of a civilization or a culture is not valued in the terms of its material wealth or military power, but by the quality and achievements of its representative individuals - its philosophers, its poets and its artists.
philosophy believe past
Nobody seriously believes in the social philosophies of the immediate past.
progress differentiation degrees
Progress is measured by the degree of differentiation within a society.
attitude political despair
The characteristic political attitude of today is not one of positive belief, but of despair.
miracle stillness
Love works miracles in stillness.
happiness may slave
The slave may be happy, but happiness is not enough.
umpires arbitration doe
I can imagine no society which does not embody some method of arbitration.
names anarchism knows
I know of no better name than Anarchism.
coherence degrees evolution
In the evolution of mankind there has always been a certain degree of social coherence.
destiny artist modern
The modern artist, by nature and destiny, is always an individualist.
philosophical feelings historical
The sense of historical continuity, and a feeling for philosophical rectitude cannot, however, be compromised.