Richard Sennett > Quotes

“[There are] code words used today to measure the 'authenticity' of relationships or other persons. We speak of whether we can personally 'relate' to events or other persons, and whether in the relationship itself people are 'open' to one another. The first is a cover word for measuring the other in terms of a mirror of self-concern, and the second is a cover for measuring social interaction in terms of the market exchange of confession. ”
― Richard Sennett

“Your dead child, Prepare him for new life. Fill him with the earth. Be careful! He should not over-eat. Put on his golden coat, You bathe him. Warm him but be careful! A child dies from too much sun. Put on his jewels. This is my recipe.”
― Richard Sennett

“There is something more here than embarrassment at being praised. The strengths 'I' have are not admissible to the arena of ability where they are socially useful; for once admitted, 'I'--my real self--would no longer have them.”
― Richard Sennett

“Issac Stern rule: the better your technique, the more impossible your standards.”
― Richard Sennett, The Craftsman