--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life being all inclusion and confusion…" description: "\"Life being all inclusion and confusion, and art being all discrimination and selection, the latter, in search of the hard latent value with which it al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/henry-james-417_art_life-being-all-inclusion-and-confusion-a_1728615.jpg" --- # Life being all inclusion and confusion, and art being all… ![“Life being all inclusion and confusion, and art being all discrimination and selection, the latter, in search of the hard latent value with which it alone is concerned, sniffs round the mass as instinctively and unerringly as a dog suspicious of some buried bone.” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/henry-james-417_art_life-being-all-inclusion-and-confusion-a_1728615.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/henry-james-417_art_life-being-all-inclusion-and-confusion-a_1728615.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94d/henry-james-417_art_life-being-all-inclusion-and-confusion-a_1728615.jpg) > “Life being all inclusion and confusion, and art being all discrimination and selection, the latter, in search of the hard latent value with which it alone is concerned, sniffs round the mass as instinctively and unerringly as a dog suspicious of some buried bone.” [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. The author contrasts life’s chaotic inclusiveness with art’s selective discrimination, likening artistic pursuit to a dog sniffing for hidden value. **In simple terms:** Art selects and refines, unlike life’s chaos Key Takeaway Recognize art’s selective nature Themes art life selection value Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - creative work - critical analysis - educational curricula - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetic theory philosophy of art human perception Questions to Reflect On - How does selective art impact society? - Can art be inclusive while selective? A Different Perspective Art’s selectivity can exclude important voices ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Inclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inclusion/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Suspicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicious/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Nobody is fully alive who cannot apply to art as much discrimination and appreciation as he applies to the work by which he earns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/nobody-is-fully-alive-who-cannot-apply-to-art-as-much-discrimination/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [“In me the tiger sniffs the rose. 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