The greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor.
In plain words
Being good with word-pictures is the greatest skill of all.
Where these words come from
- 90% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
- Poetics, Ch. XXII (Bekker 1459a), S.H. Butcher translation, 1895 (public domain, via Project Gutenberg).
- Poetics
- c. 335 BCE · Athens · lecture notes on the art of poetry, delivered at the Lyceum
More from Aristotle
See allKnowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.
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AristotleThe roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.AristotleWithout friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.AristotleNature makes nothing in vain.Aristotleso too we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.AristotleAnd in loving a friend men love what is good for themselves; for the good man in becoming a friend becomes a good to his friend.AristotleMore on creativity
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
John KeatsThe more the marble wastes, the more the statue grows.
MichelangeloMelody is the essence of music.
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMusic must never offend the ear, even in most horrendous situations, but must always be pleasing.Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMelody and harmony should be simply tools in the hands of the artist, with which he creates music.
Giuseppe VerdiFiction is to the grown man what play is to the child; it is there that he changes the atmosphere and tenor of his life.
Robert Louis Stevenson
John KeatsThe more the marble wastes, the more the statue grows.MichelangeloMelody is the essence of music.Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMusic must never offend the ear, even in most horrendous situations, but must always be pleasing.Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMelody and harmony should be simply tools in the hands of the artist, with which he creates music.Giuseppe VerdiFiction is to the grown man what play is to the child; it is there that he changes the atmosphere and tenor of his life.Robert Louis Stevenson