1. Faculté de l'esprit d'évoquer, sous forme d'images mentales, des objets ou des faits connus par une perception, une expérience antérieures : Un événement qui demeure très vif dans l'imagination.
2. Fonction par laquelle l'esprit voit, se représente, sous une forme sensible, concrète, des êtres, des choses, des situations dont il n'a pas eu une expérience directe : Un récit qui frappe l'imagination.
3. Capacité d'élaborer des images et des conceptions nouvelles, de trouver des solutions originales à des problèmes : Manquer d'imagination.
Littéraire. Choses imaginaires, constructions de l'esprit, créations plus ou moins chimériques : Ses frayeurs sont de pures imaginations.
Citations avec imagination
Émile Chartier, dit Alain (Mortagne-au-Perche 1868-Le Vésinet 1951) Je voyais donc l'imagination à sa naissance, l'imagination qui n'est que naissance, car elle n'est que le premier état de toutes nos idées. C'est pourquoi tous les dieux sont au passé. Histoire de mes pensées, Gallimard
Émile Chartier, dit Alain (Mortagne-au-Perche 1868-Le Vésinet 1951) Désordre dans le corps, erreur dans l'esprit, l'un nourrissant l'autre, voilà le réel de l'imagination. Système des beaux-arts, Gallimard
Claude Aveline (Paris 1901-Paris 1992) L'imagination la plus folle a moins de ressources que le destin. La Double Mort de Frédéric Belot, Mercure de France
Gaston Bachelard (Bar-sur-Aube 1884-Paris 1962) Il faut que l'imagination prenne trop pour que la pensée ait assez. L'Air et les Songes, José Corti
Gaston Bachelard (Bar-sur-Aube 1884-Paris 1962) L'imagination n'est rien autre que le sujet transporté dans les choses. La Terre et les Rêveries du repos, José Corti
Honoré de Balzac (Tours 1799-Paris 1850) Jamais les hommes d'imagination, pour lesquels l'espérance est le fond de la vie, ne veulent se dire qu'en affaires le moment le plus périlleux est celui où tout va selon leurs souhaits. Une fille d'Ève
Charles Baudelaire (Paris 1821-Paris 1867) L'imagination est la reine du vrai, et le possible est une des provinces du vrai. Curiosités esthétiques
Georges Braque (Argenteuil 1882-Paris 1963) Où l'on fait appel au talent, c'est que l'imagination fait défaut. Le Jour et la Nuit, Gallimard
André Breton (Tinchebray, Orne, 1896-Paris 1966) Chère imagination, ce que j'aime surtout en toi, c'est que tu ne pardonnes pas. Manifeste du surréalisme, Pauvert
Louis Ferdinand Destouches, dit Louis-FerdinandCéline (Courbevoie 1894-Meudon 1961) Quand on n'a pas d'imagination, mourir c'est peu de chose, quand on en a, mourir c'est trop. Voyage au bout de la nuit, Gallimard
Jacques Boutelleau, dit JacquesChardonne (Barbezieux 1884-La Frette-sur-Seine 1968) La science et le temps ont de l'imagination ; les hommes sont des radoteurs. Propos comme ça, Grasset
Paul Claudel (Villeneuve-sur-Fère, Aisne, 1868-Paris 1955) L'ordre est le plaisir de la raison : mais le désordre est le délice de l'imagination. Le Soulier de satin, Avertissement , Gallimard
Sidonie Gabrielle Colette (Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, Yonne, 1873-Paris 1954) Le voyage n'est nécessaire qu'aux imaginations courtes. Belles Saisons, Galerie Charpentier
René Descartes (La Haye, aujourd'hui Descartes, Indre-et-Loire, 1596-Stockholm 1650) On pourrait s'étonner que les pensées profondes se trouvent dans les écrits des poètes plutôt que des philosophes. La raison en est que les poètes écrivent par les moyens de l'enthousiasme et de la force de l'imagination : il y a en nous des semences de science, comme dans le silex, que les philosophes extraient par les moyens de la raison, tandis que les poètes, par les moyens de l'imagination, les font jaillir et davantage étinceler. Cogitationes privatae
Albert Einstein (Ulm 1879-Princeton 1955) L'imagination est plus importante que le savoir. Imagination is more important than knowledge. On Science
Anatole François Thibault, dit AnatoleFrance (Paris 1844-La Béchellerie, Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, 1924) Académie française, 1896 L'histoire n'est pas une science, c'est un art. On n'y réussit que par l'imagination. Le Jardin d'Épicure, Calmann-Lévy
Jean Giraudoux (Bellac 1882-Paris 1944) Le droit est la plus puissante des écoles de l'imagination. Jamais poète n'a interprété la nature aussi librement qu'un juriste la réalité. La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu, II, 5, Hector , Grasset
Victor Hugo (Besançon 1802-Paris 1885) La raison, c'est l'intelligence en exercice ; l'imagination c'est l'intelligence en érection. Tas de pierres, Éditions Milieu du monde
Pierre Dumarchais, dit PierreMac Orlan (Péronne 1882-Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin 1970) Il est très difficile d'imaginer quelque chose de simple. Villes, Gallimard
comte Joseph de Maistre (Chambéry 1753-Turin 1821) C'est l'imagination qui perd les batailles. Les Soirées de Saint-Pétersbourg
Nicolas Malebranche (Paris 1638-Paris 1715) L'imagination est la folle du logis. De la recherche de la vérité
Napoléon Ier (Ajaccio 1769-Sainte-Hélène 1821) empereur des Français L'imagination gouverne le monde ! Cité par Las Cases dans le Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène
Blaise Pascal (Clermont, aujourd'hui Clermont-Ferrand, 1623-Paris 1662) Le plus grand philosophe du monde, sur une planche plus large qu'il ne faut, s'il y a au-dessous un précipice, quoique sa raison le convainque de sa sûreté, son imagination prévaudra. Plusieurs n'en sauraient soutenir la pensée sans pâlir et suer. Pensées, 82
Commentaire Chaque citation des Pensées porte en référence un numéro. Celui-ci est le numéro que porte dans l'édition Brunschvicg - laquelle demeure aujourd'hui la plus généralement répandue - le fragment d'où la citation est tirée.
Blaise Pascal (Clermont, aujourd'hui Clermont-Ferrand, 1623-Paris 1662) Imagination. - C'est cette partie décevante dans l'homme, cette maîtresse d'erreur et de fausseté, et d'autant plus fourbe qu'elle ne l'est pas toujours ; car elle serait règle infaillible de vérité, si elle l'était infaillible du mensonge. Pensées, 82
Commentaire Chaque citation des Pensées porte en référence un numéro. Celui-ci est le numéro que porte dans l'édition Brunschvicg - laquelle demeure aujourd'hui la plus généralement répandue - le fragment d'où la citation est tirée.
Marcel Proust (Paris 1871-Paris 1922) […] Il en est de la vieillesse comme de la mort. Quelques-uns les affrontent avec indifférence, non pas parce qu'ils ont plus de courage que les autres, mais parce qu'ils ont moins d'imagination. À la recherche du temps perdu, le Temps retrouvé , Gallimard
Marcel Proust (Paris 1871-Paris 1922) Laissons les jolies femmes aux hommes sans imagination. À la recherche du temps perdu, la Fugitive , Gallimard
Antoine Rivaroli, dit le Comte deRivarol (Bagnols-sur-Cèze 1753-Berlin 1801) Il est plus facile à l'imagination de se composer un enfer avec la douleur qu'un paradis avec le plaisir. Discours sur l'homme intellectuel et moral
William Shakespeare (Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, 1564-Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, 1616) Le fou, l'amoureux et le poète sont farcis d'imagination. Le Songe d'une nuit d'été, V, 1, Thésée The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, Are of imagination all compact. A Midsummer Night's Dream, V, 1, Theseus
Alfred, comte de Vigny (Loches 1797-Paris 1863) […] L'imagination et le recueillement sont deux maladies dont personne n'a pitié. Chatterton, I, 5, le Quaker
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