Other men used their effete faiths and mean faculties with a high moral purpose. The Venetian gave the most earnest faith, and the lordliest faculty, to gild the shadows of an antechamber, or heighten the splendours of a holiday.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Ruskin critiques how people with noble intentions often waste their talents on trivial or superficial tasks.
- In plain terms
- Talented people often use their skills for shallow purposes instead of important ones.
- What can you take from it?
- Use your best abilities for meaningful work, not just decoration.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What uses your best skills?
- Is your work meaningful?
Another view
The quote assumes we can easily distinguish between noble and trivial goals.
More from John Ruskin
In painting as in eloquence, the greater your strength, the quieter your manner.
Permalink to quote #47 A monk of La Trappe, a French soldier of the Imperial Guard, and a thriving mill-owner, supposing each a type, and no more than a type, of his class, are all i…
Permalink to quote #49 The power which causes the several portions of the plant to help each other, we call life. Much more is this so in an animal. We may take away the branch of a …
Permalink to quote #46
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