--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All the performances of human art, at…" description: "\"All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/samuel-johnson-50_art_all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-whi_1537074.png" --- # All the performances of human art, at which we look with… ![“All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/samuel-johnson-50_art_all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-whi_1537074.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/samuel-johnson-50_art_all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-whi_1537074.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/samuel-johnson-50_art_all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-whi_1537074.png) > “All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human artistic achievements persist because of relentless perseverance, not merely talent or inspiration. **In simple terms:** Perseverance drives lasting art. Key Takeaway Cultivate persistence in creative work. Themes perseverance art human spirit Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artists - students - educators - writers Key Concepts determination legacy creative process Questions to Reflect On - What habits sustain artistic perseverance? - How does perseverance shape artistic legacy? A Different Perspective Talent alone may not sustain impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Perseverance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perseverance/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [There are two ways of attaining an important end, force and perseverance; the silent power of the latter grows irresistible with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-swetchine/there-are-two-ways-of-attaining-an-important-end-force-and/) [Sophie Swetchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-swetchine/) > [Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-what-we-call-the-thing-an-artist-does-it-s-not-the-medium-or/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Art is human. Error is human. Art is error.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/art-is-human-error-is-human-art-is-error/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“The human art form is in uniting fruitful activity with a contemplative stance, not one or the other, but always both at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-human-art-form-is-in-uniting-fruitful-activity-with-a/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [We will always need to be reminded that we are human. Art gives us that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-cusack/we-will-always-need-to-be-reminded-that-we-are-human-art-gives-us-that/) [Carmen Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-cusack/) > [The noblest works of human art and pride show that their makers were not satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-abbey/the-noblest-works-of-human-art-and-pride-show-that-their-makers-were/) [Henry Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-abbey/) > [Picturing things, taking a view, is what makes us human; art is making sense and giving shape to that sense. It is like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/picturing-things-taking-a-view-is-what-makes-us-human-art-is-making/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Chess is one thing, but if we get to the point computers can best humans in the arts-those splendid, millennia-old expressions of the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-lee-miller/chess-is-one-thing-but-if-we-get-to-the-point-computers-can-best/) [Jonny Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-lee-miller/) > [Divine Nature gave the fields, human art built the cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-terentius-varro/divine-nature-gave-the-fields-human-art-built-the-cities/) [Marcus Terentius Varro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-terentius-varro/) > [The birch-bark canoe of the savage seems to me one of the most beautiful and perfect things of the kind constructed by human art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-birch-bark-canoe-of-the-savage-seems-to-me-one-of-the-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The theatre, like the fresco, is art fitted to its place. And therefore it is above all else the human art, the living art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-rolland/the-theatre-like-the-fresco-is-art-fitted-to-its-place-and-therefore/) [Romain Rolland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-rolland/) > [“Human beings have been creative beings for a really long time—long enough and consistently enough that it appears to be a totally natural impulse.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/human-beings-have-been-creative-beings-for-a-really-long-time-long/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this art of abstract pattern-making — even more than storytelling, painting, or music - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-mathematics-this-art-of/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [“Certainly, we can no longer look upon the canon of Western art - Greco-Roman as revived, extended, and graced by the Renaissance - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/certainly-we-can-no-longer-look-upon-the-canon-of-western-art-greco/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [The finest productions of human art are immensely short of the meanest work of Nature. The nicest artist cannot make a feather or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-reid/the-finest-productions-of-human-art-are-immensely-short-of-the/) [Thomas Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-reid/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## 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": "All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-which-we-look-with-praise-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-which-we-look-with-praise-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/samuel-johnson-50_art_all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-whi_1537074.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/samuel-johnson-50_art_all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-whi_1537074.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15f/samuel-johnson-50_art_all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-whi_1537074.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless…” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All the performances of human art,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-which-we-look-with-praise-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-the-performances-of-human-art-at-which-we-look-with-praise-or/#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 } } ] } ```