--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The disinterested imaginative core of…" description: "\"The disinterested imaginative core of mythology is what develops into literature, science, philosophy. Religion is applied mythology.\" — Northrop Frye" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/northrop-frye-3483_core_the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-my_1160536.png" --- # The disinterested imaginative core of mythology is what… ![“The disinterested imaginative core of mythology is what develops into literature, science, philosophy. Religion is applied mythology.” quote by Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/northrop-frye-3483_core_the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-my_1160536.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/northrop-frye-3483_core_the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-my_1160536.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/northrop-frye-3483_core_the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-my_1160536.png) > “The disinterested imaginative core of mythology is what develops into literature, science, philosophy. Religion is applied mythology.” [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mythology’s creative imagination fuels literature, science, and philosophy, while religion turns that myth into practice. **In simple terms:** Myth inspires thought; religion uses it. Key Takeaway Recognize myth’s role in shaping ideas. Themes creativity knowledge belief Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - education - research - creative writing - public discourse Key Concepts mythology epistemology cultural studies Questions to Reflect On - How does myth influence your worldview? - Can religion be seen as a structured myth? A Different Perspective Myth can be misinterpreted or weaponized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imaginative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginative/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [Literature as a whole is not an aggregate of exhibits with red and blue ribbons attached to them, like a cat-show, but the range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-as-a-whole-is-not-an-aggregate-of-exhibits-with-red-and/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pulitzer/an-able-disinterested-public-spirited-press-with-trained-intelligence/) [Joseph Pulitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pulitzer/) > [Agape is disinterested love. . . . Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/agape-is-disinterested-love-agape-does-not-begin-by-discriminating/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Few know the joys that spring from a disinterested curiosity. It is like a cheerful spirit that leads us through worlds filled with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/few-know-the-joys-that-spring-from-a-disinterested-curiosity-it-is/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [I am bound by my own definition of criticism : a disinterested endeavour to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/i-am-bound-by-my-own-definition-of-criticism-a-disinterested/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“eager’ and ‘anxious’ aren’t the same, or how ‘disinterested’ doesn’t mean ‘uninterested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/eager-and-anxious-aren-t-the-same-or-how-disinterested-doesn-t-mean/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [For extending its sway, partly by force of arms, partly by the voluntary submission of weaker tribes, the community soon acquires wealth and slaves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-extending-its-sway-partly-by-force-of-arms-partly-by-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no pure, disinterested, theory-free observation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-is-no-pure-disinterested-theory-free-observation/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“For a time Emerson politely endeavored to conceal his boredom - like most men, he is profoundly disinterested in all children except his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peters/for-a-time-emerson-politely-endeavored-to-conceal-his-boredom-like/) [Elizabeth Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peters/) > [... I was merely a disinterested spectator at the Banquet of Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-was-merely-a-disinterested-spectator-at-the-banquet-of-life/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“Emma knew that she'd always been on the wrong side of the line that separated her from her parents, from Patrick and Annie and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-e-smith/emma-knew-that-she-d-always-been-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-line-that/) [Jennifer E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-e-smith/) > [Now that practical skills have developed enough to provide adequately for material needs, one of these sciences which are not devoted to utilitarian ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/now-that-practical-skills-have-developed-enough-to-provide-adequately/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“The mathematical method is disinterested in the efficient cause and the final cause or the goodness of a thing and it should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-mathematical-method-is-disinterested-in-the-efficient-cause-and/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Is science the disinterested pursuit of knowledge which the world may apply if it will? Or is it an activity always dependent upon economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-innes/is-science-the-disinterested-pursuit-of-knowledge-which-the-world-may/) Michael Innes > [. . . if I had been a man, self-respect, family pressure and the public opinion of my class would have pushed me into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-webb/if-i-had-been-a-man-self-respect-family-pressure-and-the-public/) [Beatrice Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-webb/) ## More by Northrop Frye > [I soon realized that a student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-soon-realized-that-a-student-of-english-literature-who-does-not/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Our country has shown a lack of will to resist its own disintegration .. . Canada is practically the only country left in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/our-country-has-shown-a-lack-of-will-to-resist-its-own-disintegration/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“The only thing that words can do with any real precision or accuracy is hang together. Accuracy of description in language is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-only-thing-that-words-can-do-with-any-real-precision-or-accuracy/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [The bedrock of doubt is the total nothingness of death. Death is a leveler, not because everybody dies, but because nobody understands what death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-bedrock-of-doubt-is-the-total-nothingness-of-death-death-is-a/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Even the human heart is slightly left of centre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/even-the-human-heart-is-slightly-left-of-centre/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Physics is an organized body of knowledge about nature, and a student of it says that he is learning physics, not nature. Art, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/physics-is-an-organized-body-of-knowledge-about-nature-and-a-student/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Literature as a whole is not an aggregate of exhibits with red and blue ribbons attached to them, like a cat-show, but the range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-as-a-whole-is-not-an-aggregate-of-exhibits-with-red-and/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [One doesn't bother to believe the credible: the credible is believed already, by definition. There's no adventure of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/one-doesn-t-bother-to-believe-the-credible-the-credible-is-believed/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Culture's essential service to a religion is to destroy intellectual idolatry, the recurrent tendency in religion to replace the object of its worship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/culture-s-essential-service-to-a-religion-is-to-destroy-intellectual/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“Tendintele autoritate ale conservatorismului trebuie corectate prin mituri ale libertatii, in vreme ce un simt conservator al ordinii trebuie sa tempereze tendintele liberalismului spre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/tendintele-autoritate-ale-conservatorismului-trebuie-corectate-prin/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Literature is a human apocalypse, man's revelation to man, and criticism is not a body of adjudications, but the awareness of that revelation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-is-a-human-apocalypse-man-s-revelation-to-man-and/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“The particular myth that's been organizing this talk, and in a way the whole series, is the story of the Tower of Babel in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-particular-myth-that-s-been-organizing-this-talk-and-in-a-way-the/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Every human society possesses a mythology which is inherited, transmitted and diversified by literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/every-human-society-possesses-a-mythology-which-is-inherited/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Science begins with the world we have to live in, accepting its data and trying to explain its laws. From there, it moves toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/science-begins-with-the-world-we-have-to-live-in-accepting-its-data/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [In the world of the imagination, anything goes that's imaginatively possible, but nothing really happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/in-the-world-of-the-imagination-anything-goes-that-s-imaginatively/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) [Explore all 129 Northrop Frye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## More Core quotes > [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/) [Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Mass adulation from the multitudes does not penetrate your soul or your core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-o-donnell/mass-adulation-from-the-multitudes-does-not-penetrate-your-soul-or/) [Rosie O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-o-donnell/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [A classic is like a hidden treasure. Its core is buried under so many layers of varnish that it can be reached only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-louis-barrault/a-classic-is-like-a-hidden-treasure-its-core-is-buried-under-so-many/) [Jean-Louis Barrault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-louis-barrault/) > [I was taking all prints and I brought them to the Magnum meetings, trying the old Josef Koudelka trick: Give them to photographers, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/i-was-taking-all-prints-and-i-brought-them-to-the-magnum-meetings/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [I think if something resonates, even if it's surreal, it's because it is relatable and I think that that's a core issue for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/i-think-if-something-resonates-even-if-it-s-surreal-it-s-because-it/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [Consider the core of the mind to be a wagon, with will-power to be carried about in it. Push it to a place where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takuan-soho/consider-the-core-of-the-mind-to-be-a-wagon-with-will-power-to-be/) [Takuan Soho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takuan-soho/) > [Sports have always been a huge part of my life and my conversations. It is a thrill and an honor to be a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-sanders/sports-have-always-been-a-huge-part-of-my-life-and-my-conversations/) [Summer Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-sanders/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Don't underestimate the power of your vision to change the world. Whether that world is your office, your community, an industry or a global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/don-t-underestimate-the-power-of-your-vision-to-change-the-world/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) Browse all 1,833 Core quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The disinterested imaginative core of mythology is what develops into literature, science, philosophy. Religion is applied mythology.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Northrop Frye" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-mythology-is-what-develops-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Core" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-mythology-is-what-develops-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/northrop-frye-3483_core_the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-my_1160536.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/northrop-frye-3483_core_the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-my_1160536.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/096/northrop-frye-3483_core_the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-my_1160536.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The disinterested imaginative core of mythology is what develops into literature, science, philosophy…” — Northrop Frye", "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": "Northrop Frye", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The disinterested imaginative core of mythology...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-mythology-is-what-develops-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-disinterested-imaginative-core-of-mythology-is-what-develops-into/#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 } } ] } ```