Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
This is beyond understanding." said the king. "You are the wisest man alive. You know what is preparing. Why do you not make a plan to save yourself?" And Merlin said quietly, "Because I am wise. In the combat between wisdom and feeling, wisdom never wins.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wisdom often conflicts with emotional instincts, leading to difficult choices.
This quote highlights the struggle between rational thought and emotional responses. Merlin recognizes that, while he possesses great wisdom, it often does not lead to practical actions when feelings and unforeseen circumstances come into play. This suggests that true wisdom involves understanding the limitations of reason in the face of human experience and emotion.
Themes
WisdomFeelingsUnderstandingEmotionLife Choices
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about making tough life decisions, one might quote this to emphasize the conflict between emotional instincts and rational thinking.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes →At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
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And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
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It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
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