Assure a man that he has a soul and then frighten him with old wives' tales as to what is to become of him afterward, and you have hooked a fish, a mental slave.
Theodore DreiserRead
I believe in the compelling power of love. I do not understand it. I believe it to be the most fragrant blossom of all this thorny existence.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love is a powerful and beautiful force, despite the challenges of life.
In this quote, Theodore Dreiser expresses his belief in the extraordinary power of love, recognizing its beauty even amidst the hardships and difficulties of existence. He describes love as the most precious and fragrant aspect of life, which stands out against the backdrop of life's challenges symbolized by thorns, highlighting the complexity and duality of love's nature.
Themes
LovePowerBeautyExistenceComplexity
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding speech to emphasize the importance of love in marriage.
More from Theodore Dreiser
All quotes →And then he sank back and tried, as usual, not to think. He must succeed. That's what the world was made for. That's what he was made for. That was what he would have to do.
Theodore DreiserRead
Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes.
Theodore DreiserRead
If I were personally to define religion, I would say that it is a bandage that man has invented to protect a soul made bloody by circustance.
Theodore DreiserRead
Our civilization is still in a middle stage, scarcely beast, in that it is no longer wholly guided by instinct; scarcely human, in that it is not yet wholly guided by reason.
Theodore DreiserRead
People in general attach too much importance to words. They are under the illusion that talking effects great results. As a matter of fact, words are, as a rule, the shallowest portion of all the argument. They but dimly represent the great surging feelings and desires which lie behind. When the distraction of the tongue is removed, the heart listens.
Theodore DreiserRead
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