--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To reduce the imagination to a state of…" description: "\"To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery --even though it would mean the elimination of what is commonly called happiness --is to betray all sen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/andr-breton-2478_absolutes_to-reduce-the-imagination-to-a-state-of_899985.jpg" --- # To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery --even… ![“To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery --even though it would mean the elimination of what is commonly called happiness --is to betray all sense of absolute justice within oneself. Imagination alone offers me some intimation of what can be.” quote by Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/andr-breton-2478_absolutes_to-reduce-the-imagination-to-a-state-of_899985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/andr-breton-2478_absolutes_to-reduce-the-imagination-to-a-state-of_899985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63c/andr-breton-2478_absolutes_to-reduce-the-imagination-to-a-state-of_899985.jpg) > “To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery --even though it would mean the elimination of what is commonly called happiness --is to betray all sense of absolute justice within oneself. Imagination alone offers me some intimation of what can be.” [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suppressing imagination for comfort betrays personal justice and limits potential. **In simple terms:** Don’t imprison imagination. Key Takeaway Protect creative freedom. Themes creativity justice freedom Mood thoughtful challenging Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - artistic creation - problem solving - personal growth Key Concepts Existentialism surrealism Questions to Reflect On - What would you create if imagination were unrestricted? - How does imagination relate to personal ethics? A Different Perspective Complete control can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Betrayal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betrayal/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [My imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-imagination/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [The mere word freedom is the only one that still excites me. I deem it capable of indefinitely sustaining the old human fanaticism. 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I sat and stood at the same time, hushed and spoke and formed two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/besides-i-was-myself-the-one-who-spoke-to-me-i-sat-and-stood-at-the/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [It's an imaginative thing we do; it's about immersing oneself in one's imagination. 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There is no excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberta-menchu/i-resolutely-believe-that-respect-for-diversity-is-a-fundamental/) [Rigoberta Menchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberta-menchu/) ## More by Andre Breton > [Of all the arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief masterpiece is writing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/of-all-the-arts-in-which-the-wise-excel-nature-s-chief-masterpiece-is/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Under his (Marc Chagall, ed.) sole impulse metaphor made its triumphal entry into modern painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/under-his-marc-chagall-ed-sole-impulse-metaphor-made-its-triumphal/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/psychic-automatism-in-its-pure-state-by-which-one-proposes-to-express/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [The art of Frida Kahlo is a ribbon around a bomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-art-of-frida-kahlo-is-a-ribbon-around-a-bomb/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“Let us not mince words: The marvelous is always beautiful, anything marvelous is beauitful, in fact only the marvelous is beautiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/let-us-not-mince-words-the-marvelous-is-always-beautiful-anything/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“There has never been any forbidden fruit. 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Like this (she closes her eyes): Two, two what?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/a-game-say-something-close-your-eyes-and-say-something-anything-a/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [...with the end of my breath, which is the beginning of yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/with-the-end-of-my-breath-which-is-the-beginning-of-yours/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Past and future monopolize the poet’s sensory and intellectual faculties, detached from the immediate spectacle. 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It will glove your hand, burying therein the profound M with which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/surrealism-will-usher-you-into-death-which-is-a-secret-society-it/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) [Explore all 141 Andre Breton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. 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