We lead two lives, and the half of our soul is madness, and half heaven is lit by a black sun. I say I am a man, is the other that hides in me?
Arthur MachenRead
It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
It's more honorable to try for great achievements and fail than to succeed in trivial or undesirable pursuits.
This quote captures the essence of ambition and the value of striving for high ideals. Arthur Machen suggests that the act of pursuing excellence, even in the face of failure, holds more significance than succeeding in mundane or worthless endeavors. It encourages individuals to aim for greatness and find meaning in their efforts, rather than settling for mediocrity.
Themes
FailureSuccessAmbitionEffortGreatness
In practice
Example use cases
During an inspirational speech at a graduation ceremony.
More from Arthur Machen
All quotes βEvery branch of human knowledge, if traced up to its source and final principles, vanishes into mystery.
Arthur MachenRead
There are sacraments of evil as well as of good about us, and we live and move to my belief in an unknown world, a place where there are caves and shadows and dwellers in twilight. It is possible that man may sometimes return on the track of evolution, and it is my belief that an awful lore is not yet dead.
Arthur MachenRead
And there were other rocks that were like animals, creeping, horrible animals, putting out their tongues, and others were like words I could not say, and others like dead people lying on the grass. I went on among them, though they frightened me, and my heart was full of wicked song they put into it; and I wanted to make faces and twist myself about the way they did, and I went on and on a long way till at last I liked the rocks and they didnβt frighten me any more
Arthur MachenRead
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If you keep proving stuff that others have done, getting confidence, increasing the complexities of your solutions - for the fun of it - then one day you'll turn around and discover that nobody actually did that one!
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I want to be clear about this. If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy.
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Something I try to instill in others is to just be a good person. It's a decision you make a million times a day. But if you just keep trying, good stuff comes to you in an ordained way.
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To a clear eye the smallest fact is a window through which the infinite may be seen.
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Criticism can never instruct or benefit you. Its chief effect is that of a telegram with dubious news. Praise leaves no glow behind, for it is a writer's habit to remember nothing good of himself. I have usually forgotten those who have admired my work, and seldom anyone who disliked it. Obviously, this is because praise is never enough and censure always too much.
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