William Morris

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

—William Morris (1834-1896)

“The true secret of happiness lies in the taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”

—William Morris (1834-1896)

“History has remembered the kings and warriors, because they destroyed; art has remembered the people, because they created.”

—William Morris (1834-1896)

“Nothing should be made by man's labour which is not worth making, or which must be made by labour degrading to the makers.”

—William Morris (1834-1896)

"No pattern should be without some sort of meaning."

—William Morris (1834-1896)

"What I mean by Socialism is a condition of society in which there should be neither rich nor poor, neither master nor master's man, neither idle nor overworked, neither brain­slack brain workers, nor heart­sick hand workers, in a word, in which all men would be living in equality of condition, and would manage their affairs unwastefully, and with the full consciousness that harm to one would mean harm to all - the realisation at last of the meaning of the word 'commonwealth.'"

—William Morris (1834-1896)

"Simplicity of life, even the barest, is not a misery, but the very foundation of refinement."

—William Morris (1834-1896)

"The greatest foe to art is luxury, art cannot live in its atmosphere."

—William Morris (1834-1896)

"A good way to rid one's self of a sense of discomfort is to do something. That uneasy, dissatisfied feeling is actual force vibrating out of order; it may be turned to practical account by giving proper expression to its creative character."

—William Morris (1834-1896)

"Free men must live simple lives and have simple pleasures."

—William Morris (1834-1896)