--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is the specialist's task to talk about…" description: "\"It is the specialist's task to talk about means, about centimeters. An artist's task is to talk about the goal, about kilometers, thousands of kilomete..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-abou_1429763.jpg" --- # It is the specialist's task to talk about means, about… ![“It is the specialist's task to talk about means, about centimeters. An artist's task is to talk about the goal, about kilometers, thousands of kilometers. The organizing role of art consists of infecting the reader, of arousing him with pathos or irony -- the cathode and anode in literature. But…” quote by Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-abou_1429763.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-abou_1429763.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-abou_1429763.jpg) > “It is the specialist's task to talk about means, about centimeters. An artist's task is to talk about the goal, about kilometers, thousands of kilometers. The organizing role of art consists of infecting the reader, of arousing him with pathos or irony -- the cathode and anode in literature. But irony that is measured in centimeters is pathetic, and centimeter-sized pathos is ridiculous. No one can be carried away by it. To stir the reader, the artist must speak not of means but of ends, of the great goal toward which mankind is moving.” [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should focus on lofty, universal goals rather than trivial details, inspiring readers through profound emotion or irony. **In simple terms:** Art must aim at big ideas, not small details. Key Takeaway Prioritize grand visions over minutiae. Themes art purpose inspiration Mood reflective critical inspirational Type philosophical inspirational reflective When to use this quote - writing - public speaking - visual arts - education - activism Key Concepts existentialism literary theory aesthetic philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can you shift from technical details to overarching purpose? - What grand goals inspire your work? A Different Perspective Focusing only on means can limit impact and relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-speak-3656003/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Carried away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carried-away/) [Centimeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centimeters-1636057/) [Centimeters Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centimeters-artist-5087020/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Centimeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-centimeters-5087019/) [Measured Centimeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measured-centimeters-5087021/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Pathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathetic/) [Pathos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathos/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Specialists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/specialists/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) ## Related quotes > [Yes, Ronaldinho is bigger than me. Exactly 4 centimeters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pel/yes-ronaldinho-is-bigger-than-me-exactly-4-centimeters/) [Pele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pel/) > [“Do you know what two centimeters is? Yeah. It's a measurement. It's about three quarters of an inch. All right. That's the distance that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/do-you-know-what-two-centimeters-is-yeah-it-s-a-measurement-it-s/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [One year I grew 15 centimeters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vlade-divac/one-year-i-grew-15-centimeters/) [Vlade Divac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vlade-divac/) > [Only by pairing knowledge with inspiration will art evolve. Without these conditions any musician will remain a flawed artist, if one may speak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-berlioz/only-by-pairing-knowledge-with-inspiration-will-art-evolve-without/) [Hector Berlioz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-berlioz/) > [An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/an-artist-cannot-speak-about-his-art-any-more-than-a-plant-can/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [ The time-honored role of the artist \[is\] to speak truth to power. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-time-honored-role-of-the-artist-is-to-speak-truth-to-power/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“An artist cannot speak about his art anymore than a plant can discuss horticulture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/an-artist-cannot-speak-about-his-art-anymore-than-a-plant-can-discuss/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I didn't expect to feel pathos for the villains in our show. I feel quite moved in several of our episodes; I never realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-lehman/i-didn-t-expect-to-feel-pathos-for-the-villains-in-our-show-i-feel/) [Kristin Lehman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-lehman/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [There is a peculiar pathos in the extinction of a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hulbert/there-is-a-peculiar-pathos-in-the-extinction-of-a-nation/) [Homer Hulbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hulbert/) > [The sickly cultural pathos which the whole of France indulges in, that fetishism of the cultural heritage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/the-sickly-cultural-pathos-which-the-whole-of-france-indulges-in-that/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [I like to play characters that get to do it all - to have a bit of comedy here and a bit of pathos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shannon/i-like-to-play-characters-that-get-to-do-it-all-to-have-a-bit-of/) [Michael Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shannon/) > [I like to weed out the people who aren't going to enjoy me straight off the bat. If you look at all my specials,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jefferies/i-like-to-weed-out-the-people-who-aren-t-going-to-enjoy-me-straight/) [Jim Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jefferies/) > [How can we manage to illuminate the pathos of our lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/how-can-we-manage-to-illuminate-the-pathos-of-our-lives/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Humor is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/humor-is-consistent-with-pathos-whilst-wit-is-not/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) ## More by Yevgeny Zamyatin > [“Homo sapiens is only man, in the fullest sense of the word, when his grammar contains no question marks, only exclamation marks, commas, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/homo-sapiens-is-only-man-in-the-fullest-sense-of-the-word-when-his/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [knowledge, absolutely sure of its infallibility, is faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/knowledge-absolutely-sure-of-its-infallibility-is-faith/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“Do you know this feeling? When you're in an aero speeding up through a blue spiral, the window open, the wind whistling, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/do-you-know-this-feeling-when-you-re-in-an-aero-speeding-up-through-a/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [ “Heretics are the only \[bitter\] remedy against the entropy of human thought. ("Literature, Revolution, and Entropy")” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/heretics-are-the-only-bitter-remedy-against-the-entropy-of-human/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [And everyone must lose his mind, everyone must! The sooner the better! It is essential — I know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/and-everyone-must-lose-his-mind-everyone-must-the-sooner-the-better/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“No, I did not understand. But I nodded silently. I was dissolved, I was infinitely small, I was a point... There is, after all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/no-i-did-not-understand-but-i-nodded-silently-i-was-dissolved-i-was/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Revolution is everywhere, in everything. There is no final revolution, no final number.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/revolution-is-everywhere-in-everything-there-is-no-final-revolution/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [In adopting the form of the adventure novel, Wells deepened it, raised its intellectual value, and brought into it elements of social philosophy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/in-adopting-the-form-of-the-adventure-novel-wells-deepened-it-raised/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“You're in a bad way! Apparently, you have developed a soul." A soul? That strange, ancient, long-forgotten word. We sometimes use the words "soul-stirring,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/you-re-in-a-bad-way-apparently-you-have-developed-a-soul-a-soul-that/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“But how was I going to explain my whole being, this whole disease that I've been jotting down in these pages? So I shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/but-how-was-i-going-to-explain-my-whole-being-this-whole-disease-that/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is - to bloom. (“A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-lilac-branches-are-bowed-under-the-weight-of-the-flowers-blooming/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/what-primitive-tastes-the-ancients-must-have-had-if-their-poets-were/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“I felt I hadn't breathed since early morning, that my heart had not beat-and only now for the first time I took a breath,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/i-felt-i-hadn-t-breathed-since-early-morning-that-my-heart-had-not/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“What is the matter -a soul? You say a soul? Oh, damn it! We may soon retrogress even to the cholera epidemics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/what-is-the-matter-a-soul-you-say-a-soul-oh-damn-it-we-may-soon/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [The literature of the immediate future will inevitably turn away from painting, whether respectably realistic or modern, and from daily life, whether old or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-literature-of-the-immediate-future-will-inevitably-turn-away-from/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) [Explore all 263 Yevgeny Zamyatin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) ## 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](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. 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": "It is the specialist's task to talk about means, about centimeters. An artist's task is to talk about the goal, about kilometers, thousands of kilometers. The organizing role of art consists of infecting the reader, of arousing him with pathos or irony -- the cathode and anode in literature. But irony that is measured in centimeters is pathetic, and centimeter-sized pathos is ridiculous. No one can be carried away by it. To stir the reader, the artist must speak not of means but of ends, of the great goal toward which mankind is moving.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yevgeny Zamyatin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-about-means-about-centimeters-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-about-means-about-centimeters-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-abou_1429763.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-abou_1429763.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/yevgeny-zamyatin-1218_art_it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-abou_1429763.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is the specialist's task to talk about means, about centimeters. An artist's task is to talk about the…” — Yevgeny Zamyatin", "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": "Yevgeny Zamyatin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is the specialist's task to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-about-means-about-centimeters-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/it-is-the-specialist-s-task-to-talk-about-means-about-centimeters-an/#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 } } ] } ```