God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.
D. H. LawrenceRead
Creation destroys as it goes, throws down one tree for the rise of another. But ideal mankind would abolish death, multiply itself million upon million, rear up city upon city, save every parasite alive, until the accumulation of mere existence is swollen to a horror.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the paradox of creation and destruction, emphasizing the unsustainable nature of perpetual growth and existence.
D. H. Lawrence's quote addresses the intrinsic cycle of creation and destruction in nature, suggesting that while one form of life may flourish, it often does so at the expense of another. He warns against the blind proliferation of life without consideration for balance, leading to a world where existence becomes burdensome rather than meaningful, hinting at the horror of unchecked growth and commodification of life.
Themes
CreationDestructionGrowthExistencePhilosophyBalance
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about environmental sustainability, one might quote this to illustrate the need for balance in nature.
More from D. H. Lawrence
All quotes →A young man is afraid of his demon and puts his hand over the demon's mouth sometimes and speaks for him. And the things the young man says are very rarely poetry.
D. H. LawrenceRead
And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets beyond the caterpillar stage -it rots in the chrysalis, it never will have wings.It is anti-creation, like monkeys and baboons.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time.
D. H. LawrenceRead
... he preferred his own madness, to the regular sanity. He rejoiced in his own madness, he was free. He did not want that old sanity of the world, which was become so repulsive. He rejoiced in the new-found world of his madness. It was so fresh and delicate and so satisfying.
D. H. LawrenceRead
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I have always detested any departure from reality, an attitude which I relate to my mother's poor mental health.
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