--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first discipline is the realization…" description: "\"“The first discipline is the realization that there is a discipline—-that all art begins and ends with discipline, that any art is first and foremost a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/archibald-macleish-7676_art_the-first-discipline-is-the-realization_2499993.jpg" --- # The first discipline is the realization that there is a… ![“The first discipline is the realization that there is a discipline—-that all art begins and ends with discipline, that any art is first and foremost a craft. We have gone far enough on the road to self-indulgence now to know that. The man who announces to the world that he is going to “do his…” quote by Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/archibald-macleish-7676_art_the-first-discipline-is-the-realization_2499993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/archibald-macleish-7676_art_the-first-discipline-is-the-realization_2499993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/archibald-macleish-7676_art_the-first-discipline-is-the-realization_2499993.jpg) > ““The first discipline is the realization that there is a discipline—-that all art begins and ends with discipline, that any art is first and foremost a craft. We have gone far enough on the road to self-indulgence now to know that. The man who announces to the world that he is going to “do his thing” is like the amateur on the high-diving platform who flings himself into the void shouting at the judges that he is going to do whatever comes naturally. He will land on his ass. Naturally. You’d think, to listen to the loudspeakers that surround us, that no man had ever tried to “do his thing” before. Every poet worth reading has, but those really worth reading have understood that to do your thing you have to learn first what your thing is and second how to go about doing it.”” [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True mastery requires recognizing that art is a craft built on disciplined practice, not spontaneous inspiration. **In simple terms:** Art is a disciplined craft. Key Takeaway Cultivate discipline before pursuing creativity. Themes discipline craft art self‑discipline Mood determined reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - learning a new skill - writing poetry - musical performance - visual art practice Key Concepts mastery process skill development Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance discipline with creative freedom? - What habits help you discover your true artistic voice? A Different Perspective Discipline alone does not guarantee originality; over‑structuring can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Discipline Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline-art-509355/) [Discipline Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline-realization-893915/) [Ends Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends-discipline-1050618/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Realization Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization-discipline-1050616/) [Thing Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-poet-1050617/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Mechanics is a means or discipline for the realization of life, but not life itself. It ought to carry us to life itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-sar-vallejo/mechanics-is-a-means-or-discipline-for-the-realization-of-life-but/) [César Vallejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-sar-vallejo/) > [It's important to immerse myself in one thing at a time to do it well, but I could never do one thing only. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamila-woods/it-s-important-to-immerse-myself-in-one-thing-at-a-time-to-do-it-well/) [Jamila Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamila-woods/) > [Who can ever say the perfect thing to the poet about his poetry?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/who-can-ever-say-the-perfect-thing-to-the-poet-about-his-poetry/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Artists are people who are subject to irrational convictions of the sacred. Baudelaire said that an artist is a child who has acquired adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/artists-are-people-who-are-subject-to-irrational-convictions-of-the/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [“Living well is both a discipline and an art. Concentrate on staying close to Me, the divine Artist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-young/living-well-is-both-a-discipline-and-an-art-concentrate-on-staying/) [Sarah Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-young/) > [“This hostility is a poor counterfeit of God’s program of learning discipline. Discipline is the art of teaching children self-control by using consequences. Irresponsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/this-hostility-is-a-poor-counterfeit-of-god-s-program-of-learning/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [“Machiavelli’s descriptions of the strategic and tactical rules of this world are valuable despite an element of caricature: A Prince, therefore, should have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/machiavelli-s-descriptions-of-the-strategic-and-tactical-rules-of/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [In architecture, to do anything beyond object form is often treated as something extra-disciplinary - something outside the discipline that has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keller-easterling/in-architecture-to-do-anything-beyond-object-form-is-often-treated-as/) [Keller Easterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keller-easterling/) > [Discipline in art is a fundamental struggle to understand oneself, as much as to understand what one is drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/discipline-in-art-is-a-fundamental-struggle-to-understand-oneself-as/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [Art history is fine. I mean, that's a discipline. Art history is art history, and you start from the beginning and you end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-weiner/art-history-is-fine-i-mean-that-s-a-discipline-art-history-is-art/) [Lawrence Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-weiner/) > [A prince must not have any objective nor any thought, nor take up any art, other than the art of war and its ordering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/a-prince-must-not-have-any-objective-nor-any-thought-nor-take-up-any/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought… but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/a-prince-must-not-have-any-other-object-nor-any-other-thought-but-war/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“A prince should therefore have no other aim or thought, nor take up any other thing for his study, but war and its order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-goldstone/a-prince-should-therefore-have-no-other-aim-or-thought-nor-take-up/) [Nancy Goldstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-goldstone/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) ## More by Archibald MacLeish > [Never in all their history have men been able truly to conceive of the world as one: a single sphere, a globe, having the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/never-in-all-their-history-have-men-been-able-truly-to-conceive-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Around, around the sun we go: The moon goes round the earth. We do not die of death: We die of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/around-around-the-sun-we-go-the-moon-goes-round-the-earth-we-do-not/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [What you really have to know is one: yourself. And the only way you can know that one is in the mirror of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/what-you-really-have-to-know-is-one-yourself-and-the-only-way-you-can/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Poets... are literal-minded men who will squeeze a word till it hurts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/poets-are-literal-minded-men-who-will-squeeze-a-word-till-it-hurts/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [“American foreign policy was a mirror image of Russian foreign policy: whatever the Russians did, we did in reverse. American domestic policies were conducted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/american-foreign-policy-was-a-mirror-image-of-russian-foreign-policy/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [To separate journalism and poetry, therefore-history and poetry-to set them up at opposite ends of the world of discourse, is to separate seeing from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/to-separate-journalism-and-poetry-therefore-history-and-poetry-to-set/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [You burned the city of London in our houses and we felt the flames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/you-burned-the-city-of-london-in-our-houses-and-we-felt-the-flames/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [The infantile cowardice of our time which demands an external pattern, a nonhuman authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/the-infantile-cowardice-of-our-time-which-demands-an-external-pattern/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Races didn't bother the Americans. They were something a lot better than any race. They were a People. They were the first self-constituted, self-declared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/races-didn-t-bother-the-americans-they-were-something-a-lot-better/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [Young poets are advised by their elders to avoid the practice of journalism as they would wet socks and gin before breakfast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/young-poets-are-advised-by-their-elders-to-avoid-the-practice-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [There are those, I know, who will reply that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/there-are-those-i-know-who-will-reply-that-the-liberation-of-humanity/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [“What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice. Without the possibility of choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/what-is-freedom-freedom-is-the-right-to-choose-the-right-to-create/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [A poem should not mean but be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/a-poem-should-not-mean-but-be/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [What once was cuddled must learn to kiss The cold wonn's mouth. That's all the mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/what-once-was-cuddled-must-learn-to-kiss-the-cold-wonn-s-mouth-that-s/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) [Explore all 88 Archibald MacLeish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [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/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The first discipline is the realization that there is a discipline—-that all art begins and ends with discipline, that any art is first and foremost a craft. We have gone far enough on the road to self-indulgence now to know that. The man who announces to the world that he is going to “do his thing” is like the amateur on the high-diving platform who flings himself into the void shouting at the judges that he is going to do whatever comes naturally. He will land on his ass. Naturally. You’d think, to listen to the loudspeakers that surround us, that no man had ever tried to “do his thing” before. Every poet worth reading has, but those really worth reading have understood that to do your thing you have to learn first what your thing is and second how to go about doing it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Archibald MacLeish" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/the-first-discipline-is-the-realization-that-there-is-a-discipline/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/the-first-discipline-is-the-realization-that-there-is-a-discipline/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/archibald-macleish-7676_art_the-first-discipline-is-the-realization_2499993.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/archibald-macleish-7676_art_the-first-discipline-is-the-realization_2499993.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e16/archibald-macleish-7676_art_the-first-discipline-is-the-realization_2499993.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The first discipline is the realization that there is a discipline—-that all art begins and ends with…” — Archibald MacLeish", "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": "Archibald MacLeish", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The first discipline is the realization...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/the-first-discipline-is-the-realization-that-there-is-a-discipline/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/the-first-discipline-is-the-realization-that-there-is-a-discipline/#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 } } ] } ```