--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I could have my life over again, I…" description: "\"“If I could have my life over again, I would devote it not to art or literature, but to language. Life itself may hit one hard, but always, always one ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/jane-ellen-harrison-30732_art_if-i-could-have-my-life-over-again-i-wou_2930623.jpg" --- # If I could have my life over again, I would devote it not… ![“If I could have my life over again, I would devote it not to art or literature, but to language. Life itself may hit one hard, but always, always one can take sanctuary in language. Language is as much an art and as sure a refuge as paint¬ ing or music or literature. It reflects and interprets and…” quote by Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/jane-ellen-harrison-30732_art_if-i-could-have-my-life-over-again-i-wou_2930623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/jane-ellen-harrison-30732_art_if-i-could-have-my-life-over-again-i-wou_2930623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/099/jane-ellen-harrison-30732_art_if-i-could-have-my-life-over-again-i-wou_2930623.jpg) > ““If I could have my life over again, I would devote it not to art or literature, but to language. Life itself may hit one hard, but always, always one can take sanctuary in language. Language is as much an art and as sure a refuge as paint¬ ing or music or literature. It reflects and interprets and makes bearable life; only it is a wider, because more subconscious, life.”” [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language serves as a universal refuge and artistic medium, offering meaning and solace beyond other arts. **In simple terms:** Language is a refuge and art. Key Takeaway Cultivate linguistic expression for comfort and insight. Themes language refuge art Mood hopeful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing therapy - education - creative writing - mental health support Key Concepts communication meaning psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape personal resilience? - In what ways can language be integrated with other arts for healing? A Different Perspective Language may not replace other forms of support for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) ## Related quotes > [“If we are inspired only by literature that reflects our own interests, all reading becomes a form of narcissism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/if-we-are-inspired-only-by-literature-that-reflects-our-own-interests/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [It's really hard when you read literature in a language that's not your own. There are all these cultural references you have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chath-piersath/it-s-really-hard-when-you-read-literature-in-a-language-that-s-not/) [Chath Piersath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chath-piersath/) > [No one can create a noteworthy work without knowing the tenets of their own language and literature. Language is renewed but it never changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simin-behbahani/no-one-can-create-a-noteworthy-work-without-knowing-the-tenets-of/) [Simin Behbahani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simin-behbahani/) > [Thus, literature, together with language, preserves and protects a nation's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/thus-literature-together-with-language-preserves-and-protects-a/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The language of literature is the language of all the world. It is necessary to divest ourselves at once of the notion of diversified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-edward-woodberry/the-language-of-literature-is-the-language-of-all-the-world-it-is/) [George Edward Woodberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-edward-woodberry/) > [As was his language so was his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/as-was-his-language-so-was-his-life/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Freedom requires that you discover your own inner language - your own life rules - your own vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-bloch-jorgensen/freedom-requires-that-you-discover-your-own-inner-language-your-own/) Zephyr Bloch-Jorgensen > [The Hawaiian language needs to be studied globally as a language of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-hiroyuki-tagawa/the-hawaiian-language-needs-to-be-studied-globally-as-a-language-of/) [Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-hiroyuki-tagawa/) > [I know the language of hard work. I don't think I have known any other language in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hardik-pandya/i-know-the-language-of-hard-work-i-don-t-think-i-have-known-any-other/) [Hardik Pandya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hardik-pandya/) > [What I try to do is find a language for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pina-bausch/what-i-try-to-do-is-find-a-language-for-life/) [Pina Bausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pina-bausch/) > [“While English is an international language, the Art language is the universal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabina-hassan/while-english-is-an-international-language-the-art-language-is-the/) Sabina Hassan > [In every art we are always obliged to return to the accepted means of expression, the conventional language of the art. What is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-delacroix/in-every-art-we-are-always-obliged-to-return-to-the-accepted-means-of/) [Eugene Delacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-delacroix/) > [The language of art is a 'parabolic' language, with a special openness to the universal: the 'Way of Beauty' is a way capable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-language-of-art-is-a-parabolic-language-with-a-special-openness/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [The language of art is powerful to those who understand it, and puzzling to those who do not. What we do know is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/the-language-of-art-is-powerful-to-those-who-understand-it-and/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [The being level speaks the language of art, music, color shape and pattern directly -- a language that requires no words -- is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-campbell/the-being-level-speaks-the-language-of-art-music-color-shape-and/) [Thomas Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-campbell/) ## More by Jane Ellen Harrison > [“I like to live spaciously, but rather plainly, in large halls with great spaces and quiet libraries. I like to wake in the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/i-like-to-live-spaciously-but-rather-plainly-in-large-halls-with/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [“Then Ruskin came. I showed him our small library. 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It was in the days when her cult was at its height—thank heaven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/and-then-last-but-oh-so-utterly-first-came-george-eliot-it-was-in-the/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [“I mention these ritual dances, this ritual drama, this bridge between art and life, because it is things like these that I was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/i-mention-these-ritual-dances-this-ritual-drama-this-bridge-between/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [“Greek writers of the fifth century B.C. have a way of speaking of, an attitude towards, religion, as though it were wholly a thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/greek-writers-of-the-fifth-century-b-c-have-a-way-of-speaking-of-an/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [“When I first came to London I became a Life Member of the London Library. London life was costly, but I felt that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/when-i-first-came-to-london-i-became-a-life-member-of-the-london/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [“There was an odd rule throughout the College that no girl might buy a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/there-was-an-odd-rule-throughout-the-college-that-no-girl-might-buy-a/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [Paganism is the worship of life itself in its supreme mysteries of ecstasy and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/paganism-is-the-worship-of-life-itself-in-its-supreme-mysteries-of/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [“At his house I often met Henry James. I liked to watch that ingenious spider weaving his webs, but to me he had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/at-his-house-i-often-met-henry-james-i-liked-to-watch-that-ingenious/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [To be a heretic to-day is almost a human obligation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/to-be-a-heretic-to-day-is-almost-a-human-obligation/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [“Though I have lived most of my life with educationalists, I have little interest in educa¬ tion. I dislike schools, both for boys and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/though-i-have-lived-most-of-my-life-with-educationalists-i-have/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) [Explore all 17 Jane Ellen Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) ## 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 > [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 I could have my life over again, I would devote it not to art or literature, but to language. 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