Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.
Oliver GoldsmithRead
What cities, as great as this, have... promised themselves immortality! Posterity can hardly trace the situation of some. The sorrowful traveller wanders over the awful ruins of others... Here stood their citadel, but now grown over with weeds; there their senate-house, but now the haunt of every noxious reptile; temples and theatres stood here, now only an undistinguished heap of ruins.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the impermanence of cities and civilizations, highlighting that all great things eventually decline and fade.
Oliver Goldsmith's quote serves as a poignant reminder of the transience of human achievements and the inevitable decay that follows. It evokes a sense of melancholy as it illustrates how once-great cities, with their grandeur and significance, eventually succumb to time, nature, and neglect, leaving only ruins behind. The imagery of 'awful ruins' and 'noxious reptiles' conveys the stark contrast between past glory and present desolation, urging us to reflect on our own legacies in the face of mortality.
Themes
ImpermanenceDecayLegacyHistoryRuins
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the rise and fall of civilizations, this quote could emphasize the importance of preserving cultural heritage.
More from Oliver Goldsmith
All quotes →A mind too vigorous and active, serves only to consume the body to which it is joined.
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Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.
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Whatever the skill of any country may be in the sciences, it is from its excellence in polite learning alone that it must expect a character from posterity.
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Life at the greatest and best is but a froward child, that must be humored and coaxed a little till it falls asleep, and then all the care is over.
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Hope, like the gleaming taper's light,_x000D_ _x000D_ Adorns and cheers our way;_x000D_ _x000D_ And still, as darker grows the night,_x000D_ _x000D_ Emits a brighter ray.
Oliver GoldsmithRead
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