--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our characteristic response to the…" description: "\"Our characteristic response to the mutilated statue, the bronze dug up from the earth, is revealing. It is not that we prefer time-worn bas-reliefs, or..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/andre-malraux-5211_ancient_our-characteristic-response-to-the-mutil_2966986.jpg" --- # Our characteristic response to the mutilated statue, the… ![“Our characteristic response to the mutilated statue, the bronze dug up from the earth, is revealing. It is not that we prefer time-worn bas-reliefs, or rusted statuettes as such, nor is it the vestiges of death that grip us in them, but those of life. Mutilation is the scar left by the struggle…” quote by Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/andre-malraux-5211_ancient_our-characteristic-response-to-the-mutil_2966986.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/andre-malraux-5211_ancient_our-characteristic-response-to-the-mutil_2966986.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/568/andre-malraux-5211_ancient_our-characteristic-response-to-the-mutil_2966986.jpg) > “Our characteristic response to the mutilated statue, the bronze dug up from the earth, is revealing. It is not that we prefer time-worn bas-reliefs, or rusted statuettes as such, nor is it the vestiges of death that grip us in them, but those of life. Mutilation is the scar left by the struggle with Time, and a reminder of it - Time which is as much a part of ancient works of art as the material they are made of, and thrusts up through the fissures, from a dark underworld, where all is at once chaos and determinism.” [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art that shows damage reveals time's impact, reminding us that creation and decay coexist. **In simple terms:** Damaged art shows time’s touch. Key Takeaway Notice how wear tells a story. Themes art time impermanence history philosophy Mood contemplative melancholic Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - museum c - archaeology - personal reflection - creative process Key Concepts aesthetics entropy temporal awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does damage change your perception of beauty? - What does the scar of time teach us about resilience? A Different Perspective Time’s erosion can obscure original intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Bronze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronze/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Determinism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determinism/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Mutilated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutilated/) [Mutilated Statue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutilated-statue-4548501/) [Mutilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutilation/) [Mutilation Scar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutilation-scar-4548503/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Relief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relief/) [Reminders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reminders/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Response Mutilated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response-mutilated-4548502/) [Revealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revealing/) [Scar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scar/) [Statues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statues/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Thrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrust/) [Underworld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underworld/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) [Worn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worn/) ## Related quotes > [I survived this torture which left me paralyzed for years. That's what that night was all about, mutilation, more than violence through sex. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-survived-this-torture-which-left-me-paralyzed-for-years-that-s-what/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Well, of course there’s my own experience of being mutilated as a little child. Having gone through this cruel practice and all the long-term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waris-dirie/well-of-course-there-s-my-own-experience-of-being-mutilated-as-a/) [Waris Dirie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waris-dirie/) > [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“What? Look at my newly mutilated flesh? Screw you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kenner/what-look-at-my-newly-mutilated-flesh-screw-you/) [Julie Kenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kenner/) > [I got my heart broken. My spirit got shattered and mutilated. I will not be coming back from this. I don’t want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-got-my-heart-broken-my-spirit-got-shattered-and-mutilated-i-will/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“And sometimes being mutilated can work to your advantage. All those people now with piercings and tattoos and brandings and scarification... What I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/and-sometimes-being-mutilated-can-work-to-your-advantage-all-those/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any-2/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [The human rainbow had been mutilated by machismo, racism, militarism and a lot of other isms, who have been terribly killing our greatness, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/the-human-rainbow-had-been-mutilated-by-machismo-racism-militarism/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [“The death of Nighteyes gutted me. I walked wounded through my life in the days that followed, unaware of just how mutilated I was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/the-death-of-nighteyes-gutted-me-i-walked-wounded-through-my-life-in/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [Besides, it happens fast for some people and slow for some, accidents or gravity, but we all end up mutilated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/besides-it-happens-fast-for-some-people-and-slow-for-some-accidents/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I got my heart broken. My spirit got shattered and mutilated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-got-my-heart-broken-my-spirit-got-shattered-and-mutilated/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Little old lady got mutilated late last night, werewolves of London, again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-zevon/little-old-lady-got-mutilated-late-last-night-werewolves-of-london/) [Warren Zevon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-zevon/) > [I've been so mutilated by a lot of articles. I know I haven't said a lot of things I'm quoted as saying in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-docter/i-ve-been-so-mutilated-by-a-lot-of-articles-i-know-i-haven-t-said-a/) [Mary Docter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-docter/) > [“manhood into smithereens. My ego was bruised. Battered. Mutilated beyond recognition. My pride was hurt. Crushed. Decimated beyond recovery. But by nothing short of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-arcane/manhood-into-smithereens-my-ego-was-bruised-battered-mutilated-beyond/) [Annie Arcane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-arcane/) > [Women's minds have been mutilated and muted to such a state that 'Free Spirit' has been branded into them as a brand name for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/women-s-minds-have-been-mutilated-and-muted-to-such-a-state-that-free/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) ## More by Andre Malraux > [The mind supplies the idea of a nation, but what gives this idea its sentimental force is a community of dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-mind-supplies-the-idea-of-a-nation-but-what-gives-this-idea-its/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [If we cannot shape our destiny there as no such thing as witchcraft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/if-we-cannot-shape-our-destiny-there-as-no-such-thing-as-witchcraft/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [You can only make art that talks to the masses when you have nothing to say to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/you-can-only-make-art-that-talks-to-the-masses-when-you-have-nothing/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The great mystery is not that we should have been thrown down here at random between the profusion of matter and that of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-great-mystery-is-not-that-we-should-have-been-thrown-down-here-at/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [“The day may come when, contemplating a world given back to the primeval forst, a human survivor will have no means of even guessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-day-may-come-when-contemplating-a-world-given-back-to-the/) [André Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Some pictures are in the gallery because they belong to humanity and others because they belong to the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/some-pictures-are-in-the-gallery-because-they-belong-to-humanity-and/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The basic problem is that our civilization, which is a civilization of machines, can teach man everything except how to be a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-basic-problem-is-that-our-civilization-which-is-a-civilization-of/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The artist is not the transcriber of the world, he is its rival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-artist-is-not-the-transcriber-of-the-world-he-is-its-rival/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Every great masterpiece is a purification of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/every-great-masterpiece-is-a-purification-of-the-world/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Even the West has known the architecture of empty space, whose object, for thousands of years, has been less to construct divine houses, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/even-the-west-has-known-the-architecture-of-empty-space-whose-object/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The crucial discovery was made that, in order to become painting, the universe seen by the artist had to become a private one created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-crucial-discovery-was-made-that-in-order-to-become-painting-the/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Art is a revolt against fate. All art is a revolt against man's fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/art-is-a-revolt-against-fate-all-art-is-a-revolt-against-man-s-fate/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [The twenty-first century will be spiritual or it will not be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/the-twenty-first-century-will-be-spiritual-or-it-will-not-be/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [“I seek the crucial region of the soul where absolute Evil and fraternity clash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/i-seek-the-crucial-region-of-the-soul-where-absolute-evil-and/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Man knows that the world is not made on a human scale; and he wishes that it were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/man-knows-that-the-world-is-not-made-on-a-human-scale-and-he-wishes/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) [Explore all 98 Andre Malraux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) [Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our characteristic response to the mutilated statue, the bronze dug up from the earth, is revealing. It is not that we prefer time-worn bas-reliefs, or rusted statuettes as such, nor is it the vestiges of death that grip us in them, but those of life. 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