Benedetto Croce 1866 – 1952
Benedetto Croce was an Italian historian, philosopher, and statesman and the principal exponent of neo-idealist philosophy in early twentieth-century Italy. From his independent library and editorial offices in Naples he edited the journal La Critica for almost half a century and produced his four-volume Philosophy of Spirit treating art, logic, ethics, and history as moments of a unified spiritual life. As senator and minister of education he led the most prominent Italian liberal opposition to Fascism and drafted the celebrated Manifesto of Anti-Fascist Intellectuals of 1925. His thought shaped Italian historiography and aesthetics for decades.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Italian
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Continental
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Benedetto Croce:
“All history is contemporary history.”
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Attributed to Benedetto Croce:
“Liberty is the eternal task of the human spirit.”
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Attributed to Benedetto Croce:
“Art is the expression of the singular intuition of the artist.”
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Attributed to Benedetto Croce:
“Theory and practice are inseparable in the life of the spirit.”
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Attributed to Benedetto Croce:
“Beauty is the conquest of expression over inarticulate feeling.”