Walter Benjamin

Walter Benjamin

10 quotes

As a German cultural critic, philosopher and social critic, Walter Benjamin earned a lasting place in the canon of memorable quotations. Whether reflecting on Wisdom or Experience, Walter Benjamin brought uncommon clarity to every subject. Browse 13 quotes by Walter Benjamin that cover ground from Wisdom, Experience, Art, Truth, and Knowledge. Consider this gem from Walter Benjamin: "All human knowledge takes the form of interpretation."

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

— Walter Benjamin

Art

All Quotes by Walter Benjamin

“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.”

— Walter Benjamin

Art

“Boredom is the dream bird that hatches the egg of experience. A rustling in the leaves drives him away.”

— Walter Benjamin

Experience

“It is precisely the purpose of the public opinion generated by the press to make the public incapable of judging, to insinuate into it the attitude of someone irresponsible, uninformed.”

— Walter Benjamin

Attitude

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

— Walter Benjamin

Death

“Memory is not an instrument for exploring the past but its theatre. It is the medium of past experience, as the ground is the medium in which dead cities lie interred.”

— Walter Benjamin

Experience

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

— Walter Benjamin

Hope

“Counsel woven into the fabric of real life is wisdom.”

— Walter Benjamin

Wisdom

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

— Walter Benjamin

Art

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

— Walter Benjamin

Beauty

“All human knowledge takes the form of interpretation.”

— Walter Benjamin

Knowledge