“We can all be clockmakers, or astronomers. But if we all wanted to be Pushkin. . .if the question is, how do you make a poem by Pushkin?- or, what exactly makes one poem or painting or piece of music greater than another?- or, what is beauty?, or liberty?, or virtue?- if the question is, how should we live?. . . then, reason gives no answer or different answers. So something went wrong. The divine spark in man is not reason after all, but something else, some kind of intuition or vision, perhaps like the moment of inspiration experienced by the artist . . .”

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Originally said in English.

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About Tom Stoppard

British playwright and screenwriter of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, known for his intellectually rigorous, dialogue-driven plays that blend wit with philosophical depth. His works—like *Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead* and *Arcadia*—explore memory, time, and human perception with sharp precision and layered storytelling.

More from Tom Stoppard (313 quotes) →
"We can all be clockmakers, or astronomers. But if we all wanted to be…" — Tom Stoppard | Daily Quotes