Archibald MacLeish Quotes

A collection of quotes by Archibald MacLeish.

Archibald MacLeish was an American poet, essayist, playwright, and diplomat, born on May 7, 1892, in Glencoe, Illinois. He was considered one of the leading literary figures of his time, renowned for his eloquent and thought-provoking works.

MacLeish obtained his Bachelor's and Law degrees from Yale University before serving in World War I. The war greatly impacted him, leading to a change in his perspective and his decision to pursue a career in writing. He went on to publish numerous poems, including his acclaimed composition, "Ars Poetica," which emphasized the art of poetry and its relationship with life.

In addition to his literary achievements, MacLeish also contributed to political and intellectual discourse. During the 1930s, he actively denounced fascism and advocated for collective security. Later, he served as Assistant Secretary of State during World War II and was a key figure in the establishment of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Throughout his career, MacLeish received various accolades for his work, including Pulitzer Prizes for his poems "Conquistador" (1933) and "Collected Poems 1917â€“1952" (1953). He continued writing until his death on April 20, 1982, leaving behind a significant body of work that explored themes of humanistic values, the complexities of existence, and the power of language. Archibald Macleish's contributions to both literature and public service have solidified his place as a notable figure in American intellectual history.

To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue in that eter

To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold - brothers who know now they are truly brothers.

Archibald MacLeish

Freedom is the right to one's dignity as a man.

Freedom is the right to one's dignity as a man.

Archibald MacLeish

Journalism is concerned with events, poetry with feelings. J

Journalism is concerned with events, poetry with feelings. Journalism is concerned with the look of the world, poetry with the feel of the world.

Archibald MacLeish

The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his l

The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.

Archibald MacLeish

Conformity & Nonconformity

The one function that TV news performs very well is that whe

The one function that TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there were.

A man who lives, not by what he loves but what he hates, is

A man who lives, not by what he loves but what he hates, is a sick man.

Archibald MacLeish

There are those who will say that the liberation of humanity

There are those who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American Dream.

Archibald MacLeish

To see the earth as we now see it, small and beautiful in th

To see the earth as we now see it, small and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the unending night -- brothers who see now they are truly brothers.

Archibald MacLeish

The American mood, perhaps even the American character, has

The American mood, perhaps even the American character, has changed. There are few manifestations any longer of the old American self-assurance which so irritated Dickens. Instead, there is a sense of frustration so perceptible that even our politicians have attempted to exploit it.

Archibald MacLeish

We are as great as our belief in human liberty -- no greater

We are as great as our belief in human liberty -- no greater. And our belief in human liberty is only ours when it is larger than ourselves.

Archibald MacLeish

The business of the law is to make sense of the confusion of

The business of the law is to make sense of the confusion of what we call human life -- to reduce it to order but at the same time to give it possibility, scope, even dignity.

Archibald MacLeish

America is promises to take! America is promises to us to ta

America is promises to take! America is promises to us to take them.

Archibald MacLeish

What happened at Hiroshima was not only that a scientific br

What happened at Hiroshima was not only that a scientific breakthrough had occurred and that a great part of the population of a city had been burned to death, but that the problem of the relation of the triumphs of modern science to the human purposes of man had been explicitly defined.

Archibald MacLeish

What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right t

What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice.

Archibald MacLeish

Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always somethi

Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing. What is necessary now is one thing and one thing only that democracy become again democracy in action, not democracy accomplished and piled up in goods and gold.

Archibald MacLeish

It is not in the world of ideas that life is lived. Life is

It is not in the world of ideas that life is lived. Life is lived for better or worse in life, and to a man in life, his life can be no more absurd than it can be the opposite of absurd, whatever that opposite may be.

Archibald MacLeish

Conventional wisdom notwithstanding, there is no reason eith

Conventional wisdom notwithstanding, there is no reason either in football or in poetry why the two should not meet in a man's life if he has the weight and cares about the words.

Archibald MacLeish