--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The more perfect the artist, the more…" description: "\"The more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates.\" — T. S. Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-com_1957787.png" --- # The more perfect the artist, the more completely separate… ![“The more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates.” quote by T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-com_1957787.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-com_1957787.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-com_1957787.png) > “The more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates.” [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. A perfect artist separates his suffering self from his creative mind, keeping them distinct. **In simple terms:** Great artists keep pain apart from creation. Key Takeaway Cultivate emotional distance to enhance creativity. Themes art creativity emotions identity Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - painting - music composition - personal therapy Key Concepts dualism psychology artistic process Questions to Reflect On - How does separating pain from art affect authenticity? - Can you create without feeling? A Different Perspective Separation may limit authenticity and empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [When we our betters see bearing our woes, We scarcely think our miseries our foes. Who alone suffers, suffers most i' the mind, Leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/when-we-our-betters-see-bearing-our-woes-we-scarcely-think-our/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [jealousy, the most hideous emotion any human being ever suffers, has nothing to do with the mind. Or not at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-jameson/jealousy-the-most-hideous-emotion-any-human-being-ever-suffers-has/) [Storm Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-jameson/) > [I would love for my existence as an artist to be completely about my art - not about my social media, or what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/i-would-love-for-my-existence-as-an-artist-to-be-completely-about-my/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [My obligation as an artist is to be completely honest and to also show people themselves through me; that's my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doechii/my-obligation-as-an-artist-is-to-be-completely-honest-and-to-also/) [Doechii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doechii/) > [An artist is completely amoral in that he will rob, beg, borrow, or steal from anybody and everybody to get the work done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/an-artist-is-completely-amoral-in-that-he-will-rob-beg-borrow-or/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [To walk with nature as a poet is the necessary condition of a perfect artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cole/to-walk-with-nature-as-a-poet-is-the-necessary-condition-of-a-perfect/) [Thomas Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cole/) > [“You are divine, you are perfect, but as an artist, you create your own story and you have the illusion that the story is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/you-are-divine-you-are-perfect-but-as-an-artist-you-create-your-own/) [Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/) > [I wanted to be the perfect artist. I'd do three hours of media interviews a day, going to every radio station I could squeeze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-black/i-wanted-to-be-the-perfect-artist-i-d-do-three-hours-of-media/) [Clint Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-black/) > [To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/to-an-engineer-good-enough-means-perfect-with-an-artist-there-s-no/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [Every man in creating the beautiful appearance of the dream worlds is a perfect artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-man-in-creating-the-beautiful-appearance-of-the-dream-worlds-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [My work as an artist is completely separate from my work as a philanthropist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/my-work-as-an-artist-is-completely-separate-from-my-work-as-a/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [“When we separate ourselves from the rest of the world, the world becomes a lonely and difficult place to live in. When we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-walsh/when-we-separate-ourselves-from-the-rest-of-the-world-the-world/) [Tom Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-walsh/) > [The thing with being able to do accents is that it's still completely separate from being an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-nivola/the-thing-with-being-able-to-do-accents-is-that-it-s-still-completely/) [Alessandro Nivola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-nivola/) > [My politics would be, must be, have to be, completely separate from my judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-kagan/my-politics-would-be-must-be-have-to-be-completely-separate-from-my/) [Elena Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-kagan/) > [But I've always felt a need to have a life which is completely separate - at least as far as possible - from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/but-i-ve-always-felt-a-need-to-have-a-life-which-is-completely/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) ## 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 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": "The more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T. S. Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-completely-separate-in-him-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-completely-separate-in-him-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-com_1957787.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-com_1957787.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b1/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-com_1957787.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind…” — T. S. Eliot", "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": "T. S. Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The more perfect the artist, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-completely-separate-in-him-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-completely-separate-in-him-will/#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 } } ] } ```