--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Want of imagination makes things unreal…" description: "\"Want of imagination makes things unreal enough to be destroyed. By imagination I mean knowledge and love. I mean compassion. People of power kill child..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/wendell-berry-236_and-love_want-of-imagination-makes-things-unreal_575497.jpg" --- # Want of imagination makes things unreal enough to be… ![“Want of imagination makes things unreal enough to be destroyed. By imagination I mean knowledge and love. I mean compassion. People of power kill children, the old send the young to die, because they have no imagination. They have power. Can you have power and imagination at the same time? Can you…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/wendell-berry-236_and-love_want-of-imagination-makes-things-unreal_575497.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/wendell-berry-236_and-love_want-of-imagination-makes-things-unreal_575497.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/wendell-berry-236_and-love_want-of-imagination-makes-things-unreal_575497.jpg) > “Want of imagination makes things unreal enough to be destroyed. By imagination I mean knowledge and love. I mean compassion. People of power kill children, the old send the young to die, because they have no imagination. They have power. Can you have power and imagination at the same time? Can you kill people you don’t know and have compassion for them at the same time?” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lack of imagination—understood as knowledge, love, and compassion—allows those in power to commit cruelty without empathy. **In simple terms:** Power without imagination leads to cruelty. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy and imagination. Themes power imagination compassion cruelty ethics Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political leadership - military decisions - corporate policies - social activism Key Concepts moral imagination ethical responsibility humanism Questions to Reflect On - How can societies foster imagination among leaders? - What practices nurture compassion in decision‑making? A Different Perspective Imagination alone may not change entrenched power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-war/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Freedom, to me, is imagination, the power of imagination to create what we want and be who we want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizzie-west/freedom-to-me-is-imagination-the-power-of-imagination-to-create-what/) Lizzie West > [The first of our senses which we should take care never to let rust through disuse is that sixth sense, the imagination. I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/the-first-of-our-senses-which-we-should-take-care-never-to-let-rust/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [May you keep dreaming until the day you die. May imagination overtake memory. May you die young at a ripe old age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/may-you-keep-dreaming-until-the-day-you-die-may-imagination-overtake/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [The great requisite for the prosperous management of ordinary business is the want of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-great-requisite-for-the-prosperous-management-of-ordinary/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Your imagination has much to do with your life… It is for you to decide how you want your imagination to serve you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-mallory-conley/your-imagination-has-much-to-do-with-your-life-it-is-for-you-to/) Philip Mallory Conley > [The format's limitations are its strengths. We can't show you the monster, but why would we want to? Your imagination is a darker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-mcquaid/the-format-s-limitations-are-its-strengths-we-can-t-show-you-the/) [Glenn McQuaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-mcquaid/) > [“I am glad to see that you have enough imagination not to be altogether a fool... Yes, it is want of imagination that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/i-am-glad-to-see-that-you-have-enough-imagination-not-to-be/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [To have frequent recourse to narrative betrays great want of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-have-frequent-recourse-to-narrative-betrays-great-want-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your imagination can focus on ugliness, distress and failure, or it can picture beauty, success, desired results. You decide how you want your imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-mallory-conley/your-imagination-can-focus-on-ugliness-distress-and-failure-or-it-can/) Philip Mallory Conley > [The sorcery and charm of imagination, and the power it gives to the individual to transform his world into a new world of order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-barron/the-sorcery-and-charm-of-imagination-and-the-power-it-gives-to-the/) [Frank Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-barron/) > [“I beg you to cultivate imagination, which means to develop your power of sympathy, and I entreat you to decide thoughtfully what makes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/i-beg-you-to-cultivate-imagination-which-means-to-develop-your-power/) [Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/) > [The wonder of imagination is this: It has the power to light its own fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-landis-mason/the-wonder-of-imagination-is-this-it-has-the-power-to-light-its-own/) [John Landis Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-landis-mason/) > [Imagination is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/imagination-is-the-power-that-enables-us-to-empathize-with-humans/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [Your imagination is the single most important asset you possess. Your imagination is your power to create mental pictures of things that don't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/your-imagination-is-the-single-most-important-asset-you-possess-your/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [“Only our imagination has the power to create the world you want and whatever gives you true joy. Beware of those who tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franco-santoro/only-our-imagination-has-the-power-to-create-the-world-you-want-and/) [Franco Santoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franco-santoro/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. 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