---
title: "3 Composition Quotes By John Ruskin"
description: "3 Composition quotes by John Ruskin. Plus more from John Ruskin and more Composition sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-ruskin-314_composition_the-highest-thoughts-are-those-which-are_1066552.jpg"
---

> [The highest thoughts are those which are least dependent on language, and the dignity of any composition and praise to which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-highest-thoughts-are-those-which-are-least-dependent-on-language/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-ruskin-314_composition_the-highest-thoughts-are-those-which-are_1066552.jpg)

> [It is a shallow criticism that would define poetry as confined to literary productions in rhyme and meter rhythm. The written poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-shallow-criticism-that-would-define-poetry-as-confined-to/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/john-ruskin-314_acting_it-is-a-shallow-criticism-that-would-def_1275220.jpg)

> [It is not possible to find a landscape, which if painted precisely as it is, will not make an impressive picture. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-not-possible-to-find-a-landscape-which-if-painted-precisely-as/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b24/john-ruskin-314_composition_it-is-not-possible-to-find-a-landscape-w_1695412.jpg)

## Other authors on Composition

## More by John Ruskin

> [“Occult Theft,--Theft which hides itself even from itself, and is legal, respectable, and cowardly,--corrupts the body and soul of man, to the last fibre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/occult-theft-theft-which-hides-itself-even-from-itself-and-is-legal/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [Mighty of heart, mighty of mind, magnanimous-to be this is indeed to be great in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/mighty-of-heart-mighty-of-mind-magnanimous-to-be-this-is-indeed-to-be/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [Life is a magic vase filled to the brim, so made that you cannot dip from it nor draw from it; but it overflows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/life-is-a-magic-vase-filled-to-the-brim-so-made-that-you-cannot-dip/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [As in the instances of alchemy, astrology, witchcraft, and other such popular creeds, political economy, has a plausible idea at the root of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/as-in-the-instances-of-alchemy-astrology-witchcraft-and-other-such/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [I am far more provoked at being thought foolish by foolish people, than pleased at being thought sensible by sensible people; and the average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/i-am-far-more-provoked-at-being-thought-foolish-by-foolish-people/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [When we build ... let it not be for present delights nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/when-we-build-let-it-not-be-for-present-delights-nor-for-present-use/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [It is far more difficult to be simple than to be complicated; far more difficult to sacrifice skill and easy execution in the proper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-far-more-difficult-to-be-simple-than-to-be-complicated-far-more/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [It is a good and safe rule to sojourn in every place as if you meant to spend your life there, never omitting an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-good-and-safe-rule-to-sojourn-in-every-place-as-if-you-meant/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [“You may trust to the truth of my sympathy; but you must remember that I am engaged in the investigation of enormous religious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/you-may-trust-to-the-truth-of-my-sympathy-but-you-must-remember-that/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [And remember, child, that nothing is ever done beautifully, which is done in rivalship; or nobly, which is done in pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/and-remember-child-that-nothing-is-ever-done-beautifully-which-is/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-s-unwise-to-pay-too-much-but-it-s-worse-to-pay-too-little/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [The world is full of vulgar Purists, who bring discredit on all selection by the silliness of their choice; and this the more, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-world-is-full-of-vulgar-purists-who-bring-discredit-on-all/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [Like other beautiful things in this world, its end (that of a shaft) is to be beautiful; and, in proportion to its beauty, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/like-other-beautiful-things-in-this-world-its-end-that-of-a-shaft-is/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [All are to be men of genius in their degree,--rivulets or rivers, it does not matter, so that the souls be clear and pure;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/all-are-to-be-men-of-genius-in-their-degree-rivulets-or-rivers-it/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [The art of drawing which is of more real importance to the human race than that of writing...should be taught to every child just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-art-of-drawing-which-is-of-more-real-importance-to-the-human-race/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/john-ruskin/#itemlist",
            "name": "3 Composition Quotes By John Ruskin",
            "numberOfItems": 3,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The highest thoughts are those which are least dependent on language, and the dignity of any composition and praise to which it is entitled are in exact proportion to its dependency of language or expression.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "John Ruskin"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-highest-thoughts-are-those-which-are-least-dependent-on-language/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-ruskin-314_composition_the-highest-thoughts-are-those-which-are_1066552.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-ruskin-314_composition_the-highest-thoughts-are-those-which-are_1066552.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-ruskin-314_composition_the-highest-thoughts-are-those-which-are_1066552.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The highest thoughts are those which are least dependent on language, and the dignity of any composition and…” — John Ruskin",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "It is a shallow criticism that would define poetry as confined to literary productions in rhyme and meter rhythm. The written poem is only poetry talking, and the statue, the picture, and the musical composition are poetry acting. Milton and Goethe, at their desks, were not more truly poets than Phidias with his chisel, Raphael at his easel, or deaf Beethoven bending over his piano, inventing and producing strains, which he himself could never hope to hear.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "John Ruskin"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-a-shallow-criticism-that-would-define-poetry-as-confined-to/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/john-ruskin-314_acting_it-is-a-shallow-criticism-that-would-def_1275220.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/john-ruskin-314_acting_it-is-a-shallow-criticism-that-would-def_1275220.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/196/john-ruskin-314_acting_it-is-a-shallow-criticism-that-would-def_1275220.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“It is a shallow criticism that would define poetry as confined to literary productions in rhyme and meter…” — John Ruskin",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "It is not possible to find a landscape, which if painted precisely as it is, will not make an impressive picture. No one knows, till he has tried, what strange beauty and subtle composition is prepared to his hand by Nature.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "John Ruskin"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-not-possible-to-find-a-landscape-which-if-painted-precisely-as/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b24/john-ruskin-314_composition_it-is-not-possible-to-find-a-landscape-w_1695412.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b24/john-ruskin-314_composition_it-is-not-possible-to-find-a-landscape-w_1695412.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b24/john-ruskin-314_composition_it-is-not-possible-to-find-a-landscape-w_1695412.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“It is not possible to find a landscape, which if painted precisely as it is, will not make an impressive…” — John Ruskin",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/john-ruskin/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/john-ruskin/",
            "name": "Composition Quotes by John Ruskin",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/john-ruskin/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-ruskin-314_composition_the-highest-thoughts-are-those-which-are_1066552.jpg"
            },
            "description": "3 Composition quotes by John Ruskin. Plus more from John Ruskin and more Composition sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/john-ruskin/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/john-ruskin/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Composition",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "John Ruskin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composition/john-ruskin/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```