--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If Roberts had been a poet or a painter…" description: "\"“If Roberts had been a poet or a painter or a musician; we might have had a masterpiece. As he was neither: we had a monster”\" — arthur machen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/arthur-machen-11940_art_if-roberts-had-been-a-poet-or-a-painter_1916540.jpg" --- # If Roberts had been a poet or a painter or a musician; we… ![“If Roberts had been a poet or a painter or a musician; we might have had a masterpiece. As he was neither: we had a monster” quote by arthur machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/arthur-machen-11940_art_if-roberts-had-been-a-poet-or-a-painter_1916540.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/arthur-machen-11940_art_if-roberts-had-been-a-poet-or-a-painter_1916540.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/arthur-machen-11940_art_if-roberts-had-been-a-poet-or-a-painter_1916540.jpg) > ““If Roberts had been a poet or a painter or a musician; we might have had a masterpiece. As he was neither: we had a monster”” [arthur machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If Roberts had been an artist, he could have created a masterpiece; instead, he became a monster. **In simple terms:** Roberts lacked artistic talent, becoming a monster. Key Takeaway Cultivate creativity to avoid destructive outcomes. Themes potential creativity destruction Mood cautionary reflective Type cultural psychological When to use this quote - career choices - personal development - leadership Key Concepts artistic expression human nature Questions to Reflect On - What talents can you nurture? - How does neglecting creativity affect character? A Different Perspective Not everyone can be a genius; effort matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) ## Related quotes > [A poet is a painter of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/a-poet-is-a-painter-of-the-soul/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) > [The poet and the painter are only truly great by the mutual influences of their studies, and the jealousy of glory has only produced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/the-poet-and-the-painter-are-only-truly-great-by-the-mutual/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) > [A poet is a painter in his way, he draws to the life, but in another kind; we draw the nobler part, the soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aphra-behn/a-poet-is-a-painter-in-his-way-he-draws-to-the-life-but-in-another/) [Aphra Behn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aphra-behn/) > [Both poet and painter want to reach the silence behind the language, the silence within the language. Both painter and poet want their work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-nemerov/both-poet-and-painter-want-to-reach-the-silence-behind-the-language/) [Howard Nemerov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-nemerov/) > [I have really enjoyed the films of Julia Roberts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esha-deol/i-have-really-enjoyed-the-films-of-julia-roberts/) [Esha Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esha-deol/) > [“This is not a Nora Roberts novel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/this-is-not-a-nora-roberts-novel/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [I was real close with Jim Duggan and Jake Roberts. We all came out of Mid-South, so we all had that in common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dibiase-sr/i-was-real-close-with-jim-duggan-and-jake-roberts-we-all-came-out-of/) [Ted DiBiase Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dibiase-sr/) > [“Robots don’t make better lovers, but Roberts do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/robots-don-t-make-better-lovers-but-roberts-do/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I would love to work with Julia Roberts at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-goreski/i-would-love-to-work-with-julia-roberts-at-some-point/) [Brad Goreski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-goreski/) > [Since I was 4, Julia Roberts has inspired me. I thought if I liked her enough, I'd become as pretty as her. That didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-macisaac/since-i-was-4-julia-roberts-has-inspired-me-i-thought-if-i-liked-her/) [Martha MacIsaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-macisaac/) > [Judge Roberts has assured me personally that he has a healthy respect for precedent and the hard-won rights of Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-baucus/judge-roberts-has-assured-me-personally-that-he-has-a-healthy-respect/) [Max Baucus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-baucus/) > [Twentieth century history of Christianity will name Oral Roberts as the voice that brought the Pentecostal movement to be taken seriously by mainline Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-schuller/twentieth-century-history-of-christianity-will-name-oral-roberts-as/) [Robert H. Schuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-schuller/) > [It's a base hit on the error by Roberts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-coleman/it-s-a-base-hit-on-the-error-by-roberts/) [Jerry Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-coleman/) > [I wanna create a character that's really memorable... like Julia Roberts did in 'Pretty Woman.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kari-wuhrer/i-wanna-create-a-character-that-s-really-memorable-like-julia-roberts/) Kari Wuhrer > [I feel very confident that that information should be sufficient for the members of the Senate to make an informed decision about John Roberts'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-gonzales/i-feel-very-confident-that-that-information-should-be-sufficient-for/) [Alberto Gonzales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-gonzales/) ## More by arthur machen > [We both wondered whether these contradictions that one can't avoid if one begins to think of time and space may not really be proofs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-both-wondered-whether-these-contradictions-that-one-can-t-avoid-if/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [The saint endeavors to recover a gift which he has lost; the sinner tries to obtain something which was never his. In brief, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/the-saint-endeavors-to-recover-a-gift-which-he-has-lost-the-sinner/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“Happiness, said De Quincey, on his discovery of the paradise that he thought he had found in opium, could be sent down by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/happiness-said-de-quincey-on-his-discovery-of-the-paradise-that-he/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“He knew then how the dull flesh of man can be like fire”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/he-knew-then-how-the-dull-flesh-of-man-can-be-like-fire/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“By what seemed then and still seems a chance, the suggestion of a moment’s idle thought followed up upon familiar lines and paths that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/by-what-seemed-then-and-still-seems-a-chance-the-suggestion-of-a/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [It is all nonsense, to be sure; and so much the greater nonsense inasmuch as the true interpretation of many dreams - not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-is-all-nonsense-to-be-sure-and-so-much-the-greater-nonsense/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“We have just begun to navigate a strange region; we must expect to encounter strange adventures, strange perils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-have-just-begun-to-navigate-a-strange-region-we-must-expect-to/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“We know what happened to those who chanced to meet the Great God Pan, and those who are wise know that all symbols are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-know-what-happened-to-those-who-chanced-to-meet-the-great-god-pan/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [There are strange things lost and forgotten in obscure corners of the newspaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/there-are-strange-things-lost-and-forgotten-in-obscure-corners-of-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“Here, I could see, was choice matter on which the expert and art critic could exercise their knowledge and judgment. As I had neither,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/here-i-could-see-was-choice-matter-on-which-the-expert-and-art-critic/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [Very softly, but very swiftly, Last, the man with the grey face and the staring eyes, bolted for his life, down and away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/very-softly-but-very-swiftly-last-the-man-with-the-grey-face-and-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-was-better-he-thought-to-fail-in-attempting-exquisite-things-than/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [And it is utterly true that he who cannot find wonder, mystery, awe, the sense of a new world and an undiscovered realm in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/and-it-is-utterly-true-that-he-who-cannot-find-wonder-mystery-awe-the/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [Every branch of human knowledge, if traced up to its source and final principles, vanishes into mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/every-branch-of-human-knowledge-if-traced-up-to-its-source-and-final/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [silence is not weakness and decency is not pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/silence-is-not-weakness-and-decency-is-not-pride/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) [Explore all 55 arthur machen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) ## 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. 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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 > [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": "“If Roberts had been a poet or a painter or a musician; we might have had a masterpiece. 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