--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have our arts, the ancients had…" description: "\"We have our arts, the ancients had theirs... We cannot raise obelisks a hundred feet high in a single piece, but our meridians are more exact.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/voltaire-173_art_we-have-our-arts-the-ancients-had-theirs_1574072.png" --- # We have our arts, the ancients had theirs... We cannot… ![“We have our arts, the ancients had theirs... We cannot raise obelisks a hundred feet high in a single piece, but our meridians are more exact.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/voltaire-173_art_we-have-our-arts-the-ancients-had-theirs_1574072.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/voltaire-173_art_we-have-our-arts-the-ancients-had-theirs_1574072.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/voltaire-173_art_we-have-our-arts-the-ancients-had-theirs_1574072.png) > “We have our arts, the ancients had theirs... We cannot raise obelisks a hundred feet high in a single piece, but our meridians are more exact.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ancient and modern arts differ in scale but share precision. **In simple terms:** Arts evolve yet retain exactness. Key Takeaway Appreciate both tradition and innovation. Themes art history precision Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical comparative When to use this quote - museum curation - architectural design - education Key Concepts cultural evolution technical mastery Questions to Reflect On - How do modern arts compare to ancient? - What does “meridian” symbolize here? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex artistic developments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancients Theirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancients-theirs-5931230/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Arts Ancients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arts-ancients-5931231/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Obelisks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obelisks-2157148/) [Obelisks Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obelisks-feet-5931232/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Raise Obelisks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raise-obelisks-5931229/) [Raises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raises/) ## Related quotes > [Egyptian pyramids or obelisks – seemed to be the basis of the great memorials that have kept their significance and dignity across time. 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When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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