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The possibilities of the art of combination are not infinite, but they tend to be frightful. The Greeks engendered the chimera, a monster with heads of the lion, the dragon and the goat; the theologians of the second century, the Trinity, in which the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are inextricably tied; the Chinese zoologists, the ti-yiang, a vermilion supernatural bird, endowed with six feet and four wings, but without a face or eyes; the geometers of the nineteenth century, the hypercube, a figure with four dimensions, which encloses an infinite number of cubes and has as its faces eight cubes and twenty-four squares. Hollywood has just enriched this vain museum of horrors: by means of an artistic malignity called dubbing, it proposes monsters that combine the illustrious features of Greta Garbo with the voice of Aldonza Lorenzo.

Jorge Luis Borges#50

ArtCreativityCriticismCinemaMythMythologyTechnologyTheology

About this quote

What does it mean?
Combining elements creatively can produce terrifying or monstrous results, as seen in myths, theology, and art.
In plain terms
Mixing things together often leads to scary outcomes.
What can you take from it?
Be cautious when blending ideas or features artificially.

Where it applies

  • analyzing myths
  • evaluating art
  • discussing technology

Putting it to work

  • critique dubbing
  • study mythology
  • analyze art

Questions to consider

  • What counts as a monster?
  • Is dubbing really monstrous?

Another view

The quote is subjective and not all combinations are frightening.

More from Jorge Luis Borges

  1. The central problem of novel-writing is causality.

    Permalink to quote #49
  2. I owe the discovery of Uqbar to the conjunction of a mirror and an encyclopedia.

    Permalink to quote #51
  3. It is venturesome to think that a coordination of words (philosophies are nothing more than that) can resemble the universe very much. It is also venturesome t…

    Permalink to quote #48

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