Creative Quotations from . . .
Walter Benjamin
(1892-1940) born on Jul 15
German "man of letters, aesthetician". He is now considered to have been the most important German literary critic in the first half of the 20th century.
 
   
F
The power of a text is different when it is read from when it is copied out. . . . Only the copied text thus commands the soul of him who is occupied with it, whereas the mere reader never discovers the new aspects of his inner self . . ."

R
All human knowledge takes the form of interpretation.
A
"Nothing is poorer than a truth expressed as it was thought. Committed to writing in such cases, it is not even a bad photograph. . . ."
N
"The art of storytelling is reaching its end because the epic side of truth, wisdom, is dying out."
K
The art of the critic in a nutshell: to coin slogans without betraying ideas. The slogans of an inadequate criticism peddle ideas to fashion.


Published Sources for the above Quotations:
F: ""One-Way Street," "Chinese Curios," 1928."
R: "Letter, 9 Dec. 1923; in "Under the Sign of Saturn," by Susan Sontag, 1978."
A: ""One-Way Street," "Technical Aid," 1928."
N: ""The Storyteller," sct. 4, 1936."
K: ""One-Way Street," "Post No Bills: The Critic's Technique in Thirteen Theses," 1928."



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