Life & Wisdom Quote by Lafcadio Hearn

Idealism, for Lafcadio Hearn, isn’t a creed to be defended; it’s raw material to be shaped. The line flatters lofty belief and quietly disarms it at the same time. Calling idealism a "proper subject" suggests a kind of etiquette: art is the salon where grand hopes are allowed in, dressed up, examined under better lighting. But it also implies distance. Once idealism enters art, it’s no longer policy or prophecy; it becomes image, story, atmosphere - something you can feel, argue with, even outgrow.

That double move fits Hearn’s broader project. Writing as a cosmopolitan observer who moved between cultures (most famously Japan), he was deeply attuned to the way ideals travel: how they enchant outsiders, how they ossify into caricature, how they survive as folklore and ritual long after their original social function fades. Art is where idealism gets preserved and translated, but also where it can be tested without the collateral damage of real-world enforcement.

The subtext is a warning to zealots and a dare to artists. To the zealot: your ideals don’t get to remain pure once they’re made visible; representation invites scrutiny, irony, contradiction. To the artist: don’t be afraid of high-minded material. Even naive idealism is useful because it reveals what a culture wants to believe about itself - and what it has to edit out to keep believing it. In Hearn’s hands, idealism isn’t truth; it’s a diagnostic, and art is the instrument.