"Many objects, as... the precious stones and the metals and some other materials used for adornment and decoration, owe their utility as items of conspicuous waste to an antecedent utility as objects of beauty. Gold, for instance, has a high degree of sensuous beauty; very many if not most of the highly prized works of art are intrinsically beautiful, though often with material qualification; the like is true of some stuffs used for clothing, of some landscapes, and of many other things in less degree. ...But the utility of these things to the possessor is commonly due less to their intrinsic beauty than to the honor which their possession and consumption confers, or to the obloquy which it wards off."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p.129
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Class
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
The Theory of the Leisure Class
308 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by The Theory of the Leisure Class →
Related Quotes
"The means through which a change is wrought in men's apprehension of what is good and right is in large part the pres…"
"The institution of ownership has begun with the ownership of persons, primarily women. The incentives to acquiring su…"
"In modern civilized communities... the norm of reputability imposed by the upper class extends its coercive influence…"
"Some... higher wants, as for instance the habitual use of certain stimulants, or the need of salvation (in the eschat…"
"In aesthetic theory it might be extremely difficult, if not quite impracticable, to draw a line between the canon of …"
"The possession of wealth, which was at the outset valued simply as an evidence of efficiency, becomes, in popular app…"
"Chief among the honorable employments in any feudal community is warfare; and priestly service is commonly second to …"
"At an earlier... stage of barbarism, the leisure class is found in a less differentiated form. Neither the class dist…"
"If we go a step back of this exemplary barbarian culture, into the lower stages of barbarism, we no longer find the l…"
"Altered conditions may increase the facility of life for the group as a whole, but the redistribution will usually re…"