Hunger is no excuse for stealing a loaf of bread, but an artist can be excused for stealing ten thousand escudos to guarantee his sustenance and tranquillity for two years, provided his work seeks to advance human civilization; if it’s merely an aesthetic work, then the argument doesn’t hold.
 Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet (1982). copy citation

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Author Fernando Pessoa
Source The Book of Disquiet
Topic aesthetics civilization
Date 1982
Language English
Reference
Note Translated by Richard Zenith
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