--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The true art of memory is the art of…" description: "\"The true art of memory is the art of attention.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4de/samuel-johnson-50_art_the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-att_713314.png" --- # The true art of memory is the art of attention. ![“The true art of memory is the art of attention.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4de/samuel-johnson-50_art_the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-att_713314.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4de/samuel-johnson-50_art_the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-att_713314.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4de/samuel-johnson-50_art_the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-att_713314.png) > “The true art of memory is the art of attention.” [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. States that true memory depends on focused attention, not just recall techniques. **In simple terms:** Memory works through attention. Key Takeaway Practice attentive focus to remember better. Themes memory attention learning Mood reflective educational Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - studying - public speaking - daily tasks Key Concepts cognitive psychology mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How can you improve your focus? - What habits hinder your attention? A Different Perspective Attention can be distracted, limiting memory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [Art is the suitcase of history, carrying the essentials. Art is the life buoy of history. 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Unpacked, these two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-dawes/as-you-may-know-my-motto-is-all-memory-is-fiction-it-could-just-as/) [Kwame Dawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-dawes/) > [All art is a memory of age-old things, dark things, whose fragments live on in the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/all-art-is-a-memory-of-age-old-things-dark-things-whose-fragments/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Interviewing is in some ways the art of memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/interviewing-is-in-some-ways-the-art-of-memory/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [“(The phrase “in the first place” is a vestige from the art of memory.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/the-phrase-in-the-first-place-is-a-vestige-from-the-art-of-memory/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [True art lies in a reality that is felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/true-art-lies-in-a-reality-that-is-felt/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [True art awakens the Extraordinary Ovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-art-awakens-the-extraordinary-ovation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I've had people come up to me with the strangest interpretations of what my lyrics might mean, and I'm like, "You go! I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serj-tankian/i-ve-had-people-come-up-to-me-with-the-strangest-interpretations-of/) [Serj Tankian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serj-tankian/) > [It is the greatest of crimes to depress true art and science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/it-is-the-greatest-of-crimes-to-depress-true-art-and-science/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The true art of being young is knowing how to defy gravity and upset as many people as possible while doing it. How to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-rock/the-true-art-of-being-young-is-knowing-how-to-defy-gravity-and-upset/) [Mick Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-rock/) > [Nature I believe in. True art aims to, represent men and women, not as my little self would have them, but as they appear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/nature-i-believe-in-true-art-aims-to-represent-men-and-women-not-as/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) ## 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. 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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 true art of memory is the art of attention.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-attention/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-attention/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4de/samuel-johnson-50_art_the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-att_713314.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4de/samuel-johnson-50_art_the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-att_713314.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4de/samuel-johnson-50_art_the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-att_713314.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The true art of memory is the art of attention.” — 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": "The true art of memory is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-attention/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-true-art-of-memory-is-the-art-of-attention/#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 } } ] } ```