--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..if I dont do something on the grand…" description: "\"“..if I dont do something on the grand scale, it is that my genius is altogether imitative, and that I have nor recently encountered any very striking ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/henry-james-417_art_if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scal_671435.png" --- # ..if I dont do something on the grand scale, it is that my… ![“..if I dont do something on the grand scale, it is that my genius is altogether imitative, and that I have nor recently encountered any very striking models of grandeur.” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/henry-james-417_art_if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scal_671435.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/henry-james-417_art_if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scal_671435.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/henry-james-417_art_if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scal_671435.png) > ““..if I dont do something on the grand scale, it is that my genius is altogether imitative, and that I have nor recently encountered any very striking models of grandeur.”” [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding grand gestures can lead to imitation rather than original brilliance. **In simple terms:** Big ideas need originality. Key Takeaway Pursue unique visions. Themes creativity originality ambition Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - artistic projects - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts artistic expression innovation self-actualization Questions to Reflect On - What grand project reflects your true voice? - How do you balance scale with authenticity? A Different Perspective Risk of over‑valuing scale over substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ## Related quotes > [“Imitation and custom are the spring of almost all human action. 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That destroys their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-are-imitative-and-imitation-is-bound-to-be-unintelligent-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember when first, Stripes, and then Animal House came out - which I was really proud of, even though it was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-reitman/i-remember-when-first-stripes-and-then-animal-house-came-out-which-i/) [Ivan Reitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-reitman/) > [Each of us is in fact what he is almost exclusively by virtue of his imitative-ness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/each-of-us-is-in-fact-what-he-is-almost-exclusively-by-virtue-of-his/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We were all imitative. We all wandered in after Miss Edna St. Vincent Millay. We were all being dashing and gallant, declaring we weren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/we-were-all-imitative-we-all-wandered-in-after-miss-edna-st-vincent/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Man is an imitative creature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/man-is-an-imitative-creature/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Imagination is imitative-the real innovation lies in criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/imagination-is-imitative-the-real-innovation-lies-in-criticism/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Being abroad makes you conscious of the whole imitative side of human behavior. The ape in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/being-abroad-makes-you-conscious-of-the-whole-imitative-side-of-human/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [“Yet far too many people set out to produce something that, if they were really honest with themselves, is only marginally better or different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/yet-far-too-many-people-set-out-to-produce-something-that-if-they/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [The invention of photography destroyed the canons of representational, imitative art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/the-invention-of-photography-destroyed-the-canons-of-representational/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [I began composing works which were imitative of the music I was being told about. I was also very interested in translating the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flynt/i-began-composing-works-which-were-imitative-of-the-music-i-was-being/) [Henry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flynt/) > [But what is drama? Broadly speaking, it is whatever by imitative action rouses interest or gives pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-what-is-drama-broadly-speaking-it-is-whatever-by-imitative-action/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All you can do is make a piece of product, sell it on its own terms, stand behind it and hope that people will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-mcdowall/all-you-can-do-is-make-a-piece-of-product-sell-it-on-its-own-terms/) [Roddy McDowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-mcdowall/) ## More by Henry James > [Though there are some disagreeable things in Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/though-there-are-some-disagreeable-things-in-venice-there-is-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“In literature we move through a blest world in which we know nothing except by style, but in which everything is saved by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/in-literature-we-move-through-a-blest-world-in-which-we-know-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. 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He has never done a thing in his life exept play games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-is-no-wonder-he-wins-every-game-he-has-never-done-a-thing-in-his/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. 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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 I dont do something on the grand scale, it is that my genius is altogether imitative, and that I have nor recently encountered any very striking models of grandeur.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scale-it-is-that-my-genius-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scale-it-is-that-my-genius-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/henry-james-417_art_if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scal_671435.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/henry-james-417_art_if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scal_671435.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/henry-james-417_art_if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scal_671435.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“..if I dont do something on the grand scale, it is that my genius is altogether imitative, and that I have…” — Henry James", "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": "Henry James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“..if I dont do something on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scale-it-is-that-my-genius-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-i-dont-do-something-on-the-grand-scale-it-is-that-my-genius-is/#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 } } ] } ```