“A little group of wise hearts is better than a wilderness full of fools.”

— John Ruskin, The Crown of Wild Olive (1866)

About John Ruskin

1819 – 1900

English art critic and social thinker.

“Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality.”

“God has lent us the earth for our life; it is a great entail.”

“Labour without joy is base. Labour without sorrow is base. Sorrow without labour is base. Joy without labour is base.”

“Love the little trade which thou hast learned, and be content therewith.”

“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”

“There is the love of knowing without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to dissipation of mind.”

“When Life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind.”

“They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it.”

“Something the heart must have to cherish, must love and joy and sorrow learn.”