--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We might adapt for the artist the joke…" description: "\"We might adapt for the artist the joke about there being nothing more dangerous than instruments of war in the hands of generals. In the same way, ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71c/pablo-picasso-552_art_we-might-adapt-for-the-artist-the-joke-a_1021082.jpg" --- # We might adapt for the artist the joke about there being… ![“We might adapt for the artist the joke about there being nothing more dangerous than instruments of war in the hands of generals. In the same way, there is nothing more dangerous than justice in the hands of judges, and a paint brush in the hands of a painter! Just think of the danger to society!…” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71c/pablo-picasso-552_art_we-might-adapt-for-the-artist-the-joke-a_1021082.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71c/pablo-picasso-552_art_we-might-adapt-for-the-artist-the-joke-a_1021082.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71c/pablo-picasso-552_art_we-might-adapt-for-the-artist-the-joke-a_1021082.jpg) > “We might adapt for the artist the joke about there being nothing more dangerous than instruments of war in the hands of generals. In the same way, there is nothing more dangerous than justice in the hands of judges, and a paint brush in the hands of a painter! Just think of the danger to society! But today we haven't the heart to expel the painters and poets because we no longer admit to ourselves that there is any danger in keeping them in our midst.” [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that creative talent can be as dangerous as weapons when misused, suggesting society fears its power yet tolerates it. **In simple terms:** Creative power can be dangerous if misused. Key Takeaway Recognize and responsibly channel artistic influence. Themes power responsibility society creativity Mood concerned critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political decisions - media criticism - art education - public policy Key Concepts ethics influence danger Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance artistic freedom with potential misuse? - What safeguards protect creative expression? A Different Perspective Artists may be censored, limiting freedom of expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Paint brushes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paint-brushes/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Today we haven't the heart to expel the painters and poets from society because we refuse to admit to ourselves that there is any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/today-we-haven-t-the-heart-to-expel-the-painters-and-poets-from/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Most of the paint I use is a liquid, flowing kind of paint. The brushes I use are more a sticks rather than brushes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/most-of-the-paint-i-use-is-a-liquid-flowing-kind-of-paint-the-brushes/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [God is not remote from us. He is at the point of my pen, my (pick) shovel, my paint brush, my (sewing) needle -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/god-is-not-remote-from-us-he-is-at-the-point-of-my-pen-my-pick-shovel/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [The business of peace requires more than showing up with paint brushes, foodstuffs and an oil pipeline or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-snow/the-business-of-peace-requires-more-than-showing-up-with-paint/) [Tony Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-snow/) > [I'm interested in all kinds of pictures, however they are made, with cameras, with paint brushes, with computers, with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-m-interested-in-all-kinds-of-pictures-however-they-are-made-with/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [If I were alive in Rubens's time, I'd be celebrated as a model. Kate Moss would be used as a paint brush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/if-i-were-alive-in-rubens-s-time-i-d-be-celebrated-as-a-model-kate/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [I don't have to lay on the couch and see a therapist because my therapist is in my paint brushes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbey-lincoln/i-don-t-have-to-lay-on-the-couch-and-see-a-therapist-because-my/) [Abbey Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbey-lincoln/) > [My philosophy is that I'm an artist. I perform an art not with a paint brush or a camera. I perform with bodily movement.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-prefontaine/my-philosophy-is-that-i-m-an-artist-i-perform-an-art-not-with-a-paint/) [Steve Prefontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-prefontaine/) > [Just as I work with paints, brushes, and canvas, I work with the light, pieces of glass and chemistry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/just-as-i-work-with-paints-brushes-and-canvas-i-work-with-the-light/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [No need to fix what God already put his paint brush on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-need-to-fix-what-god-already-put-his-paint-brush-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Brushes are crucial for applying glazes, sauces, and oils. The pastry brushes that you find in homestores can be pricey so pay a visit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-flay/brushes-are-crucial-for-applying-glazes-sauces-and-oils-the-pastry/) [Bobby Flay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-flay/) > [Graffiti is a lot easier than the canvas actually, because it's such a large format, so when you're going to such a thin detail,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-monopoly/graffiti-is-a-lot-easier-than-the-canvas-actually-because-it-s-such-a/) [Alec Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-monopoly/) > [Messi and Neymar will create beauty - just like Picasso's paint brush. I still believe Messi is the best in the world. He has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-luis-menotti/messi-and-neymar-will-create-beauty-just-like-picasso-s-paint-brush-i/) [Cesar Luis Menotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-luis-menotti/) > [As an artist, all I need is my paints and brushes - and someone to drag me away when the canvas is done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/as-an-artist-all-i-need-is-my-paints-and-brushes-and-someone-to-drag/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Often while reading a book one feels that the author wouold heave preferred to paint rather than to wirte; one can sense the pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/often-while-reading-a-book-one-feels-that-the-author-wouold-heave/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## More by Pablo Picasso > [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/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [One never knows what one is going to do. One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/one-never-knows-what-one-is-going-to-do-one-starts-a-painting-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now there is fame! Of all - hunger, misery, the incomprehension by the public - fame is by far the worst. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/now-there-is-fame-of-all-hunger-misery-the-incomprehension-by-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It takes a long time to become young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-takes-a-long-time-to-become-young/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You see these thick curtains shut out the daylight: artificial light suits me a great deal better; it's absolutely steady, and much more exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/you-see-these-thick-curtains-shut-out-the-daylight-artificial-light/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The best calculation is the absence of calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others generally figure that when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-best-calculation-is-the-absence-of-calculation-once-you-have/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Action is the foundational key to all success. --Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/action-is-the-foundational-key-to-all-success-pablo-picasso/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The earth doesn't have a housekeeper to do the dusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-earth-doesn-t-have-a-housekeeper-to-do-the-dusting/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/god-is-really-only-another-artist-he-invented-the-giraffe-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/a-baby-will-make-love-stronger-days-shorter-nights-longer-bankroll/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Explore all 477 Pablo Picasso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## 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": "We might adapt for the artist the joke about there being nothing more dangerous than instruments of war in the hands of generals. 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