--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Language exists less to record the actual…" description: "\"Language exists less to record the actual than to liberate the imagination.\" — Anthony Burgess" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/anthony-burgess-1167_imagination_language-exists-less-to-record-the-actua_2804642.jpg" --- # Language exists less to record the actual than to liberate… ![“Language exists less to record the actual than to liberate the imagination.” quote by Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/anthony-burgess-1167_imagination_language-exists-less-to-record-the-actua_2804642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/anthony-burgess-1167_imagination_language-exists-less-to-record-the-actua_2804642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/anthony-burgess-1167_imagination_language-exists-less-to-record-the-actua_2804642.jpg) > “Language exists less to record the actual than to liberate the imagination.” [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language should free imagination rather than merely record facts, encouraging creative thought. **In simple terms:** Language frees imagination over recording. Key Takeaway Use language to expand creative thinking. Themes language imagination freedom Mood inspired intellectual Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - storytelling - education Key Concepts literature philosophy creativity Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape your thoughts? - What words spark your creativity? A Different Perspective Practical constraints can limit imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [I just can't afford to get bored, because if you've been blessed with a generous imagination, which a lot of actors have, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-mcginley/i-just-can-t-afford-to-get-bored-because-if-you-ve-been-blessed-with/) [John C. McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-mcginley/) > [I want to liberate my imagination and my mind with every kind of movie. That is what I wanted to do all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/i-want-to-liberate-my-imagination-and-my-mind-with-every-kind-of/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [Language exists to communicate whatever it can communicate. Some things it communicates so badly that we never attempt to communicate them by words if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/language-exists-to-communicate-whatever-it-can-communicate-some/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [ It had a language. It's a very emotional language that only exists in India, that part of \[inaudible\] so we wanted to use that.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/it-had-a-language-it-s-a-very-emotional-language-that-only-exists-in/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [No language exists that cannot be misused... Every Interpretation is hypothetical, for it is a mere attempt to read an unfamiliar text.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-language-exists-that-cannot-be-misused-every-interpretation-is/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Reality prior to my language exists as an unthinkable thought. . . . life precedes love, bodily matter precedes the body, and one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/reality-prior-to-my-language-exists-as-an-unthinkable-thought-life/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“There's certain structured language that will enable us to do all current impossibles. Unfortunately, it's not that we use nowadays. The good news is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/there-s-certain-structured-language-that-will-enable-us-to-do-all/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Language exists only when it is listened to as well as spoken. The hearer is an indispensable partner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/language-exists-only-when-it-is-listened-to-as-well-as-spoken-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Language leads a double life - and so does the novelist. You chat with family and friends, you attend to your correspondence, you consult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/language-leads-a-double-life-and-so-does-the-novelist-you-chat-with/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“Language exists to conceal true thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-talleyrand/language-exists-to-conceal-true-thought/) Charles Talleyrand > [Outer fire we need to cook. Inner fire we need to liberate. God's Fire we need to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/outer-fire-we-need-to-cook-inner-fire-we-need-to-liberate-god-s-fire/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [“I can confidently state that the greatest rescues in my life have occurred when I’ve been saved from myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/i-can-confidently-state-that-the-greatest-rescues-in-my-life-have/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Liberate yourself from my vice-like grip!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/liberate-yourself-from-my-vice-like-grip/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“From this point forward, you don’t even know how to quit in life.” ~ Aaron Lauritsen, ‘100 Days Drive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lauritsen/from-this-point-forward-you-don-t-even-know-how-to-quit-in-life-aaron/) [Aaron Lauritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lauritsen/) > [“While religions could not liberate humans from the agony of the human condition…they did provide an invaluable way to withdraw from the brink of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-griffith/while-religions-could-not-liberate-humans-from-the-agony-of-the-human/) [Jeremy Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-griffith/) ## More by Anthony Burgess > [If you expect the worst from a person you can never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/if-you-expect-the-worst-from-a-person-you-can-never-be-disappointed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/life-is-a-wretched-gray-saturday-but-it-has-to-be-lived-through/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“A man who serves language, however imperfectly, should always serve truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-man-who-serves-language-however-imperfectly-should-always-serve/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [All human life is here, but the Holy Ghost seems to be somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/all-human-life-is-here-but-the-holy-ghost-seems-to-be-somewhere-else/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Rome's just a city like anywhere else. A vastly overrated city, I'd say. It trades on belief just as Stratford trades on Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/rome-s-just-a-city-like-anywhere-else-a-vastly-overrated-city-i-d-say/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The important thing is moral choice. Evil has to exist along with good, in order that moral choice may operate. Life is sustained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-important-thing-is-moral-choice-evil-has-to-exist-along-with-good/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Civilised my syphilised yarbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/civilised-my-syphilised-yarbles/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-downtrodden-are-the-great-creators-of-slang/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Without class differences, England would cease to be the living theatre it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/without-class-differences-england-would-cease-to-be-the-living/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The ideal reader of my novels is a lapsed Catholic and failed musician, short-sighted, colour-blind, auditorily biased, who has read the books that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-ideal-reader-of-my-novels-is-a-lapsed-catholic-and-failed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [... A CLOCKWORK ORANGE- and I said: 'That's a fair gloopy title. Who ever heard of a clockwork orange?' Then I read a malenky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-clockwork-orange-and-i-said-that-s-a-fair-gloopy-title-who-ever/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A work of fiction should be, for its author, a journey into the unknown, and the prose should convey the difficulties of the journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-work-of-fiction-should-be-for-its-author-a-journey-into-the-unknown/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“By definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose between good and evil. If he can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/by-definition-a-human-being-is-endowed-with-free-will-he-can-use-this/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) [Explore all 261 Anthony Burgess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Language exists less to record the actual than to liberate the imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Burgess" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/language-exists-less-to-record-the-actual-than-to-liberate-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/language-exists-less-to-record-the-actual-than-to-liberate-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/anthony-burgess-1167_imagination_language-exists-less-to-record-the-actua_2804642.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/anthony-burgess-1167_imagination_language-exists-less-to-record-the-actua_2804642.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/anthony-burgess-1167_imagination_language-exists-less-to-record-the-actua_2804642.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Language exists less to record the actual than to liberate the imagination.” — Anthony Burgess", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Anthony Burgess", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Language exists less to record the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/language-exists-less-to-record-the-actual-than-to-liberate-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/language-exists-less-to-record-the-actual-than-to-liberate-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```