Air Quote by Henry David Thoreau

A picture is a work of art, not because it is 'modern,' nor because it is 'ancient,' but because it is a sincere expression…

— John F. Carlson

It is better to imitate ancient than modern work.

— Leonardo da Vinci

“One makes a great error if one believes there are 'ancients.' Only now is antiquity starting to arise. It arises in the eyes and…

— Novalis

Ancient history, besides the still unequalled excellence of the writers, is the best instrument for cultivating the historical sense.

— Goldwin Smith

“the people were steeped in the crepuscular gloom of antiquity; and were wise with all manner of accumulated lore; and were subtle in the…

— Clark Ashton Smith

A great value of antiquity lies in the fact that its writings are the only ones that modern men still read with exactness.

— Friedrich Nietzsche

If history were a photograph of the past it would be flat and uninspiring. Happily, it is a painting; and, like all works of…

— Allan Nevins

“The ancients Knew exactly what they were doing. There is no mystery on why the monuments around the word are placed where they are.…

— Kenneth G. Ortiz

“Only the learned read old books, and... now... they are of all men the least likely to acquire wisdom by doing so. ...[G]reat scholars…

— C.S. Lewis

“Perhaps we are passing through an age of democratisation in art, while awaiting the rise of some princely master who shall establish a new…

— Kakuzō Okakura

Classics isn't about the ancient world. It's partly about the ancient world, but it's about our conversation. It's how we try to talk to…

— Mary Beard

Tombs decked by the arts can scarcely represent death as a formidable enemy; we do not, indeed, like the ancients, carve sports and dances…

— Madame de Stael