--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every nation, every race, has not only…" description: "\"Every nation, every race, has not only its own creative, but its own critical turn of mind; and is even more oblivious of the shortcomings and limitati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/t-s-eliot-633_creative_every-nation-every-race-has-not-only-its_2205208.png" --- # Every nation, every race, has not only its own creative… ![“Every nation, every race, has not only its own creative, but its own critical turn of mind; and is even more oblivious of the shortcomings and limitations of its critical habits than of those of its creative genius.” quote by T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/t-s-eliot-633_creative_every-nation-every-race-has-not-only-its_2205208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/t-s-eliot-633_creative_every-nation-every-race-has-not-only-its_2205208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f52/t-s-eliot-633_creative_every-nation-every-race-has-not-only-its_2205208.png) > “Every nation, every race, has not only its own creative, but its own critical turn of mind; and is even more oblivious of the shortcomings and limitations of its critical habits than of those of its creative genius.” [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eliot observes that societies possess both creative and critical capacities, yet often overlook the limits of their critical habits compared to their creative potential. **In simple terms:** Societies have creative and critical sides, but ignore critical limits. Key Takeaway Balance creativity with critical self‑awareness. Themes creativity critical thinking self‑awareness culture balance Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - team brainstorming - policy making - educational curricula - personal development Key Concepts psychology sociology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can we nurture critical thinking without suppressing creativity? - What mechanisms reveal critical blind spots? A Different Perspective Critical habits can stifle innovation if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-genius/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Critical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical/) [Critical Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical-habits-4860361/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Limitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitation/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Oblivious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-oblivious-2273472/) [Nation Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-race-4860360/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Oblivious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivious/) [Oblivious Shortcomings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivious-shortcomings-4860359/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Shortcomings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortcomings/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) ## Related quotes > [The beautiful result often astonishes us when our mind becomes oblivious to the work done with our heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/the-beautiful-result-often-astonishes-us-when-our-mind-becomes/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [The history of Germany is not the history of a nation, but of a race. It has little unity, therefore; it is complicated, broken,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/the-history-of-germany-is-not-the-history-of-a-nation-but-of-a-race/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [It was the nation and the race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion's heart. I had the luck to be called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/it-was-the-nation-and-the-race-dwelling-all-round-the-globe-that-had/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Gass once wrote: "Language serves not only to express thought but to make possible thoughts which could not exist without it." Here is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/gass-once-wrote-language-serves-not-only-to-express-thought-but-to/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [ How full of the creative genius is the air in which these \[snowflakes\] are generated! I should hardly admire them more if real stars… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-full-of-the-creative-genius-is-the-air-in-which-these-snowflakes/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Willed introversion, in fact, is one of the classic implements of creative genius and can be employed as a deliberate device. It drives the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/willed-introversion-in-fact-is-one-of-the-classic-implements-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What made Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein such creative geniuses? It wasn't reading books or watching YouTube talks about How To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-burkeman/what-made-leonardo-da-vinci-thomas-edison-and-albert-einstein-such/) [Oliver Burkeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-burkeman/) > [The Bible makes it clear that every time that there is a story of faith, it is completely original. God's creative genius is endless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/the-bible-makes-it-clear-that-every-time-that-there-is-a-story-of/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Sometimes miraculous films come into being, made by people you've never heard of, starring unknown faces, blindsiding you with creative genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/sometimes-miraculous-films-come-into-being-made-by-people-you-ve/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [“Here is the essence of mankind's creative genius: not the edifices of civilization nor the bang-flash weapons which can end it, but the words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/here-is-the-essence-of-mankind-s-creative-genius-not-the-edifices-of/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“A philosopher/mathematician named Bertrand Russell who lived and died in the same century as Gass once wrote: “Language serves not only to express thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/a-philosopher-mathematician-named-bertrand-russell-who-lived-and-died/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [...in my lieder concerts, I always strove, when possible, to sing only the works of a single composer, so that the audience could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-fischer-dieskau/in-my-lieder-concerts-i-always-strove-when-possible-to-sing-only-the/) [Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-fischer-dieskau/) > [The creative genius begins in the idle moment, dreaming up the impossible, and later making it come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-creative-genius-begins-in-the-idle-moment-dreaming-up-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The creative genius may be at once naive and knowledgeable, being at home equally with primitive symbolism and rigorous logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-x-barron/the-creative-genius-may-be-at-once-naive-and-knowledgeable-being-at/) [Frank X. Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-x-barron/) > [R.I.P. Alexander McQueen, a kind soul and brilliant creative genius. Sad and shocking. You've touched us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-zee/r-i-p-alexander-mcqueen-a-kind-soul-and-brilliant-creative-genius-sad/) [Joe Zee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-zee/) ## More by T. S. Eliot > [The Nobel is a ticket to one's own funeral. No one has ever done anything after he got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-nobel-is-a-ticket-to-one-s-own-funeral-no-one-has-ever-done/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Dear Mother, I am getting on nicely in my work at the bank, and like it ... I want to find out something about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/dear-mother-i-am-getting-on-nicely-in-my-work-at-the-bank-and-like-it/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, But the faith and the love and the hope are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/for-love-would-be-love-of-the-wrong-thing-there-is-yet-faith-but-the/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We must always take risks. That is our destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-must-always-take-risks-that-is-our-destiny/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [All significant truths are private truths. As they become public they cease to become truths; they become facts, or at best, part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/all-significant-truths-are-private-truths-as-they-become-public-they/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/when-forced-to-work-within-a-strict-framework-the-imagination-is/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/honest-criticism-and-sensitive-appreciation-are-directed-not-upon-the/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Desire itself is movement Not in itself desirable; Love is itself unmoving, Only the cause and end of movement, Timeless, and undesiring Except in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/desire-itself-is-movement-not-in-itself-desirable-love-is-itself/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [ the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. \[He\] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic-irregular-fragmentary-he/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We had the experience, but we missed the meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-had-the-experience-but-we-missed-the-meaning/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The end is in the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-end-is-in-the-beginning/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [You have learned enough to see that cats are much like you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/you-have-learned-enough-to-see-that-cats-are-much-like-you-and-me/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-good-poet-welds-his-theft-into-a-whole-of-feeling-which-is-unique/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [It's strange that words are so inadequate. Yet, like the asthmatic struggling for breath, so the lover must struggle for words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/it-s-strange-that-words-are-so-inadequate-yet-like-the-asthmatic/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Every end is a beginning...And every beginning is an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/every-end-is-a-beginning-and-every-beginning-is-an-end/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) [Explore all 433 T. S. Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) ## More Creative quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/) [Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Money is only used for two things. One, it's to make you comfortable, and the more comfortable you are the more creative you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/money-is-only-used-for-two-things-one-it-s-to-make-you-comfortable/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [I can't let fear kill my creative brain. Fear is the killer. Your bad choices come from fear. And I'm constantly combating fear. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-can-t-let-fear-kill-my-creative-brain-fear-is-the-killer-your-bad/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Anytime I get the chance to sing or work with Michael John, it is such an incredibly fertile and incredibly creative and safe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audra-mcdonald/anytime-i-get-the-chance-to-sing-or-work-with-michael-john-it-is-such/) [Audra McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audra-mcdonald/) > [What Sri Chinmoy does is God-given! He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/what-sri-chinmoy-does-is-god-given-he-has-a-tremendous-a-fantastic/) [Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [when times are tough, the weak bail and the tough get creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/when-times-are-tough-the-weak-bail-and-the-tough-get-creative/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [Teasing out the way the world might look through another's eyes is what makes the creative process so fascinating and enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/teasing-out-the-way-the-world-might-look-through-another-s-eyes-is/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) [Browse all 7,284 Creative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every nation, every race, has not only its own creative, but its own critical turn of mind; and is even more oblivious of the shortcomings and limitations of its critical habits than of those of its creative genius.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T. S. 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