--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The art lies in setting the inner life…" description: "\"“The art lies in setting the inner life into the most violent motion with the smallest possible expenditure of outer life; for it is the inner life whi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/arthur-schopenhauer-226_art_the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-i_2528446.jpg" --- # The art lies in setting the inner life into the most… ![“The art lies in setting the inner life into the most violent motion with the smallest possible expenditure of outer life; for it is the inner life which is the real object of our interest - The task of the novelist is not to narrate great events but to make small ones interesting.” quote by Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/arthur-schopenhauer-226_art_the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-i_2528446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/arthur-schopenhauer-226_art_the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-i_2528446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/arthur-schopenhauer-226_art_the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-i_2528446.jpg) > ““The art lies in setting the inner life into the most violent motion with the smallest possible expenditure of outer life; for it is the inner life which is the real object of our interest - The task of the novelist is not to narrate great events but to make small ones interesting.”” [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The novelist should focus on inner experience, making mundane moments compelling with minimal external action. **In simple terms:** Focus on inner life, not grand events. Key Takeaway Make small moments vivid. Themes creativity inner life novel writing Mood contemplative introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal diaries - character development - literary analysis Key Concepts existentialism minimalism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you make ordinary scenes emotionally resonant? - What techniques reveal inner conflict? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on interiority may neglect plot dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art-aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-aesthetic-10880/) [Inner life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Inner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-inner-1319969/) [Life Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-violent-1319967/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Novelist Narrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist-narrate-1319968/) ## Related quotes > [“Art is a true aesthetic synthesis , "a priori" of feeling and image in the intuition, as to which it may be repeated that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedetto-croce/art-is-a-true-aesthetic-synthesis-a-priori-of-feeling-and-image-in/) [Benedetto Croce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedetto-croce/) > [We all have two lives: an inner life and an outer life. Your inner life is your soul life, which includes your mind, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/we-all-have-two-lives-an-inner-life-and-an-outer-life-your-inner-life/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [An inner life and inner enemies to conquer, battle and destroy. These enemies are the various desires that seek to distract our concentration by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-oscar-smith/an-inner-life-and-inner-enemies-to-conquer-battle-and-destroy-these/) [Johan Oscar Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-oscar-smith/) > [“I have long noticed that people who talk to those closest to them only about what they eat, what they wear, the money they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-have-long-noticed-that-people-who-talk-to-those-closest-to-them/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [when I first began this diary I said I would give a record of my inner life. I begin to wonder if I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/when-i-first-began-this-diary-i-said-i-would-give-a-record-of-my/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“We do not have to look about us very far or for very long to realize the disastrous effects produced on the inner life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-d-chanet/we-do-not-have-to-look-about-us-very-far-or-for-very-long-to-realize/) [Jean Déchanet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-d-chanet/) > [How slow life is, how violent hope is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-apollinaire/how-slow-life-is-how-violent-hope-is/) [Guillaume Apollinaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-apollinaire/) > [My painting is not violent, it's life that is violent. Even within the most beautiful landscape, in the trees, under the leaves, the insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/my-painting-is-not-violent-it-s-life-that-is-violent-even-within-the/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I'm human," he said in a tormented tone. "And I'm not." He dropped his hand to her shoulder. "I never knew softness," he breathed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-m-human-he-said-in-a-tormented-tone-and-i-m-not-he-dropped-his-hand/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“There are no tragedies in life, only violent coup d’etats on the state of irrational optimism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/there-are-no-tragedies-in-life-only-violent-coup-d-etats-on-the-state/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [I never set out to write literature; I set out to tell stories. And some of my work may be very raunchy and very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-smith/i-never-set-out-to-write-literature-i-set-out-to-tell-stories-and/) [Wilbur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-smith/) > [Be regular and orderly in your life, that you may be violent and original in your work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-regular-and-orderly-in-your-life-that-you-may-be-violent-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As it usually happened after an engagement, a heavy sadness was coming down over his spirits. To some degree it was the prodigious contrastbetween…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-o-brian/as-it-usually-happened-after-an-engagement-a-heavy-sadness-was-coming/) [Patrick O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-o-brian/) > [Even when our intentions are noble and our efforts sincere, even when we dedicate our lives to the service of others, the corrosive pressure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-muller/even-when-our-intentions-are-noble-and-our-efforts-sincere-even-when/) [Wayne Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-muller/) > [“Characters in novels sometimes radiate more energy, therefore, when we don’t enter their mind. It is one of the techniques a novelist acquires instinctively—don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/characters-in-novels-sometimes-radiate-more-energy-therefore-when-we/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More by Arthur Schopenhauer > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“In accordance with such zeal, by reducing the external world to a matter of faith, he wanted merely to open a little door for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-accordance-with-such-zeal-by-reducing-the-external-world-to-a/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Imitation and custom are the spring of almost all human action. The cause of it is that men fight shy of all and any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/imitation-and-custom-are-the-spring-of-almost-all-human-action-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [The eternal being..., as it lives in us, also lives in every animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-eternal-being-as-it-lives-in-us-also-lives-in-every-animal/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [there are very few who can think, but every man wants to have an opinion; and what remains but to take it ready-made from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-are-very-few-who-can-think-but-every-man-wants-to-have-an/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [It is not what things are objectively and in themselves, but what they are for us, in our way of looking at them, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-not-what-things-are-objectively-and-in-themselves-but-what-they/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [ “\[Materialism\] seeks the primary and most simple state of matter, and then tries to develop all the others from it; ascending from mere mechanism,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/materialism-seeks-the-primary-and-most-simple-state-of-matter-and/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [In order to increase his pleasures, man has intentionally added to the number and pressure of his needs, which in their original state were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-order-to-increase-his-pleasures-man-has-intentionally-added-to-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“For the will, as that which is common to all, is for that reason also common: consequently, every vehement emergence of will is common,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/for-the-will-as-that-which-is-common-to-all-is-for-that-reason-also/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Alles Urdenken geschieht in Bildern: darum ist die Phantasie ein so nothwendiges Werkzeug desselben, und werden phantasielose Köpfe nie etwas Großes leisten, - es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/alles-urdenken-geschieht-in-bildern-darum-ist-die-phantasie-ein-so/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/intellect-is-invisible-to-the-man-who-has-none/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Newspapers are the second hand of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/newspapers-are-the-second-hand-of-history/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“In travelling where novelties of all kinds press in upon us, mental food is often supplied so rapidly from without that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-travelling-where-novelties-of-all-kinds-press-in-upon-us-mental/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) [Explore all 791 Arthur Schopenhauer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) ## 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 art lies in setting the inner life into the most violent motion with the smallest possible expenditure of outer life; for it is the inner life which is the real object of our interest - The task of the novelist is not to narrate great events but to make small ones interesting.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-into-the-most-violent-motion/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-into-the-most-violent-motion/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/arthur-schopenhauer-226_art_the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-i_2528446.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/arthur-schopenhauer-226_art_the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-i_2528446.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/arthur-schopenhauer-226_art_the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-i_2528446.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The art lies in setting the inner life into the most violent motion with the smallest possible expenditure…” — Arthur Schopenhauer", "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": "Arthur Schopenhauer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The art lies in setting the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-into-the-most-violent-motion/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-art-lies-in-setting-the-inner-life-into-the-most-violent-motion/#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 } } ] } ```