Emotion is the surest arbiter of a poetic choice, and it is the priest of all supreme unions in the mind. – Max Eastman
The defining function of the artist is to cherish consciousness. – Max Eastman
Classic art was the art of necessity: modern romantic art bears the stamp of caprice and chance. – Max Eastman
It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humor. – Max Eastman
The worst enemy of human hope is not brute facts, but men of brains who will not face them. – Max Eastman
It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance and I know of no substitute whatever for the force and beauty of its process. – Max Eastman
A smile is the universal welcome. – Max Eastman
There is something self-defeating in the too-conscious pursuit of pleasure. – Max Eastman
Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. What puts man in a higher state of evolution is that he has got his laugh on the right end. – Max Eastman
Humor is the instinct for taking pain playfully. – Max Eastman
