---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The agitator seizes the word. The artist…"
description: "\"The agitator seizes the word. The artist is seized by it.\" — Karl Kraus"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/967/karl-kraus-1128_art_the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist_2073758.png"
---

#  The agitator seizes the word. The artist is seized by it.

![“The agitator seizes the word. The artist is seized by it.” quote by Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/967/karl-kraus-1128_art_the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist_2073758.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/967/karl-kraus-1128_art_the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist_2073758.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/967/karl-kraus-1128_art_the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist_2073758.png)

> “The agitator seizes the word. The artist is seized by it.”

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The word becomes a weapon for the agitator, while the artist is consumed by it.

**In simple terms:** Words can dominate creators.

Key Takeaway

Guard against being overtaken by language.

Themes

language power creativity

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

- political\_rhetoric
- creative\_process

Key Concepts

manipulation artistic\_absorption

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you keep language a tool, not a master?
- When does rhetoric become oppression?

A Different Perspective

Words can imprison their users.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/)

## Related quotes

> [I prefer the word 'musician.' I'm a musician and a composer. I have a problem with the word 'artist.' I don't know if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-prefer-the-word-musician-i-m-a-musician-and-a-composer-i-have-a/)

[Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/)

> [“Murder = Art ... Everyone is artist... we all understand different the word "Artist”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/murder-art-everyone-is-artist-we-all-understand-different-the-word/)

Deyth Banger

> [If you live through the initial stage of fame and get past it, and remember thats not who you are. If you live past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/if-you-live-through-the-initial-stage-of-fame-and-get-past-it-and/)

[Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/)

> [I've worked with a lot of directors, some of them you wouldn't really attach the word 'artist' to their name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mothersbaugh/i-ve-worked-with-a-lot-of-directors-some-of-them-you-wouldn-t-really/)

[Mark Mothersbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mothersbaugh/)

> [The word "artist" means man unless qualified by the category "woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-chadwick/the-word-artist-means-man-unless-qualified-by-the-category-woman/)

Whitney Chadwick

> [Being an artist doesn't just mean you have a song. That doesn't make you an artist. The word 'artist' means so many different things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-eilish/being-an-artist-doesn-t-just-mean-you-have-a-song-that-doesn-t-make/)

[Billie Eilish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-eilish/)

> [I like the word 'artist,' but I don't like the word 'artist' inside my house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/i-like-the-word-artist-but-i-don-t-like-the-word-artist-inside-my/)

[PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/)

> [Law it is . . . which hears without ears, sees without eyes, moves without feet and seizes without hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsilio-ficino/law-it-is-which-hears-without-ears-sees-without-eyes-moves-without/)

[Marsilio Ficino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsilio-ficino/)

> [Love seizes us suddenly, without giving warning, and our disposition or our weakness favors the surprise; one look, one glance, from the fair fixes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/love-seizes-us-suddenly-without-giving-warning-and-our-disposition-or/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [When fear seizes, change what you are doing. You are doing something wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-craighead-george/when-fear-seizes-change-what-you-are-doing-you-are-doing-something/)

[Jean Craighead George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-craighead-george/)

> [Seize the day, whatever's in it to seize, before something comes along and seizes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/seize-the-day-whatever-s-in-it-to-seize-before-something-comes-along/)

[Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/)

> [We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-know-that-no-one-ever-seizes-power-with-the-intention-of/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Discouragement seizes us only when we can no longer count on chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/discouragement-seizes-us-only-when-we-can-no-longer-count-on-chance/)

[George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/)

> [“The keen spirit seizes the prompt occasion-makes the thought start into action, and at once plans and performs, resolves and executes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-moore/the-keen-spirit-seizes-the-prompt-occasion-makes-the-thought-start/)

Hannah Moore

> [There is, of course, a difference between what one seizes and what one really possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/there-is-of-course-a-difference-between-what-one-seizes-and-what-one/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

## More by Karl Kraus

> [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [I don't like to meddle in my private affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-don-t-like-to-meddle-in-my-private-affairs/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' When he behaves like a beast, he says 'After all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/when-a-man-is-treated-like-a-beast-he-says-after-all-i-m-human-when/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [They judge lest they be judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/they-judge-lest-they-be-judged/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [I and my public understand each other very well: it does not hear what I say, and I don't say what it wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-and-my-public-understand-each-other-very-well-it-does-not-hear-what/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Satire that the censor understands is rightly censored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-that-the-censor-understands-is-rightly-censored/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Hate must make a man productive. Otherwise one might as well love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/hate-must-make-a-man-productive-otherwise-one-might-as-well-love/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [One must read all writers twice--the good as well as the bad. The one kind will be recognized; the other, unmasked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/one-must-read-all-writers-twice-the-good-as-well-as-the-bad-the-one/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Children today laugh at fathers who tell them about dragons. It is necessary to make fear a required subject; otherwise children will never learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/children-today-laugh-at-fathers-who-tell-them-about-dragons-it-is/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [The little stations are very proud because the expresses have to pass them by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-little-stations-are-very-proud-because-the-expresses-have-to-pass/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [I have often been asked to be fair and view a matter from all sides. I did so, hoping that something might improve if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-have-often-been-asked-to-be-fair-and-view-a-matter-from-all-sides-i/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [In the theater one must sit in such a way that one sees the audience as a dark mass. Then it cannot bother one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/in-the-theater-one-must-sit-in-such-a-way-that-one-sees-the-audience/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Many desire to kill me, and many wish to spend an hour chatting with me. The law protects me from the former.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/many-desire-to-kill-me-and-many-wish-to-spend-an-hour-chatting-with/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

[Explore all 275 Karl Kraus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

## 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": "The agitator seizes the word. The artist is seized by it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Karl Kraus"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist-is-seized-by-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist-is-seized-by-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/967/karl-kraus-1128_art_the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist_2073758.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/967/karl-kraus-1128_art_the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist_2073758.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/967/karl-kraus-1128_art_the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist_2073758.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The agitator seizes the word. The artist is seized by it.” — Karl Kraus",
                "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": "Karl Kraus",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The agitator seizes the word. The...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist-is-seized-by-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-agitator-seizes-the-word-the-artist-is-seized-by-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
