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The desire for symmetry, for balance, for rhythm in form as well as in sound, is one of the most inveterate of human instincts.
Edith Wharton
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Humans have a deep-rooted instinct to seek balance and harmony in their surroundings.

In this quote, Edith Wharton highlights the innate human tendency to appreciate and strive for symmetry, balance, and rhythm, not just in visual art but also in sound and life itself. This desire reflects a fundamental aspect of human nature, indicating that our aesthetic preferences and emotional responses are often guided by these principles of harmony.

Themes

SymmetryBalanceRhythmInstinctArtHuman Nature

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a lecture about the elements of design in art classes.

More from Edith Wharton

They are all alike you know. They hold their tongues for years and you think you're safe, but when the opportunity comes they remember everything.
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Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
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And I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, & consequently suggests more tugging, & pain, & diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.
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As he paid the hansom and followed his wife's long train into the house he took refuge in the comforting platitude that the first six months were always the most difficult in marriage. 'After that I suppose we shall have pretty nearly finished rubbing off each other’s angles,' he reflected; but the worst of it was that May's pressure was already bearing on the very angles whose sharpness he most wanted to keep
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There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
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