The law is a gun, which if it misses a pigeon always kills a crow; if it does not strike the guilty, it hits someone else. As every crime creates a law, so in turn every law creates a crime.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1St Baron LyttonRead
A chord, stronger or weaker, is snapped asunder in every parting, and time's busy fingers are not practiced in re-splicing broken ties. Meet again you may; will it be in the same way? With the same sympathies? With the same sentiments? Will the souls, hurrying on in diverse paths, unite once more, as if the interval had been a dream? Rarely, rarely!
Interpretation
What this quote means
Parting leads to changed connections that are difficult to restore. Time alters the nature of our relationships and feelings.
This quote emphasizes the fragile and complicated nature of human relationships. Every parting creates a disruption or a severing of emotional ties, which can be very hard to mend over time. The author reflects on the uncertainty of reuniting after separation: even if individuals meet again, the familiarity, shared feelings, and deep connections may no longer exist, suggesting that time and experiences alter our relationships in profound ways.
Themes
PartingRelationshipsConnectionsChangeTime
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of cherishing relationships, one might say, 'As Edward Bulwer-Lytton once expressed, parting creates a disconnect that can rarely be mended.'
More from Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1St Baron Lytton
All quotes βThe best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1St Baron LyttonRead
There are two lives to each of us, the life of our actions, and the life of our minds and hearts. History reveals men's deeds and their outward characters, but not themselves. There is a secret self that has its own life, unpenetrated and unguessed.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1St Baron LyttonRead
No author ever drew a character consistent to human nature, but he was forced to ascribe to it many inconsistencies.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1St Baron LyttonRead
Revenge is a common passion; it is the sin of the uninstructed. The savage deems it noble;but the religion of Christ, which is the sublime civilizer, emphatically condemns it. Why? Because religion ever seeks to ennoble man; and nothing so debases him as revenge.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1St Baron LyttonRead
Fate! There is no fate. Between the thought and the success God is the only agent. Fate is not the ruler, but the servant of Providence.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1St Baron LyttonRead
Similar quotes
At any age, we struggle with intimacy. When you're a kid, you think, 'I won't have that problem. I'll have sex whenever I want when I'm a grown-up!' And then, somehow, it doesn't quite turn out that way, and it's so surprising to people that connection remains so challenging even when you're married.
David FrankelRead
So many people supported me through my public life and I will never forget them.
Princess DianaRead
As you get older you have more respect and empathy for your parents. Now I have a great relationship with both of them.
Hugh JackmanRead
The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance.
E. M. ForsterRead
You can have no influence over those for whom you have underlying contempt.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
My mother and father taught me about black excellence and dynasty. They experienced racism personally, and when something like that happens to you and not around you, you develop a different perception than someone who has never experienced racism a day in their lives.
LizzoRead