QuoteProject
With cats, some say, one rule is true: Don't speak till you are spoken to.
T. S. Eliot
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of patience and understanding in interactions, particularly in the context of social relationships with cats.

T. S. Eliot's quote suggests that communication, especially with creatures like cats, is often more effective when we take a step back and allow the other party to initiate interaction. This reflects a broader principle that applying patience and waiting for an invitation to engage can lead to better connections and understanding in various relationships.

Themes

CatsCommunicationPatienceRelationshipsUnderstanding

In practice

Example use cases

You could use this quote while discussing strategies for better communication with pets or animals in general.

More from T. S. Eliot

There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
T. S. EliotRead
I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
T. S. EliotRead
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
T. S. EliotRead
For I have known them all already, known them allβ€” Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
T. S. EliotRead
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
T. S. EliotRead

Similar quotes

This is something caregivers have to understand: You have to ask for help. You have to realize that you deserve to ask for help. Because you need to keep on working on your own life.
Gail SheehyRead
I have to express sympathy from the bottom of my heart to those people who were taken as wartime comfort women. As a human being, I would like to express my sympathies, and also as prime minister of Japan I need to apologize to them.
Shinzo AbeRead
I don't think your missing pieces ever fit inside you again once they go missing.
John GreenRead
I hated hurting him. Most of the time, I could forget about it, but the inexorable truth is this: They might be glad to have me around, but I was the alpha and the omega of my parents' suffering.
John GreenRead
No society of nations, no people within a nation, no family can benefit through mutual aid unless good will exceeds ill will; unless the spirit of cooperation surpasses antagonism; unless we all see and act as though the other man's welfare determines our own welfare.
Henry Ford IiRead
God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are.
Billy GrahamRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by T. S. Eliot | QuoteProject