That which has always been accepted by everyone, everywhere, is almost certain to be false.
Paul ValeryRead
The future, like everything else, is not what it used to be.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The future is ever-changing and unpredictable, unlike how we might have imagined it based on the past.
This quote by Paul Valery suggests that our perceptions of the future are deeply influenced by our past experiences, yet it reminds us that the future is subject to change and is often not as we had envisioned. It calls for an acknowledgment that what we expect from the future can differ significantly from reality, highlighting the fluid nature of time and circumstances.
Themes
FutureChangePerceptionTimeUnpredictability
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about innovation and adaptation, one might say this quote to emphasize the necessity of embracing change.
More from Paul Valery
All quotes βOh, hasten not this loving act, Rapture where self and not-self meet: My life has been the awaiting you, Your footfall was my own heart's beat.
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The history of thought may be summed up in these words: it is absurd by what it seeks and great by what it finds.
Paul ValeryRead
The world acquires value only through its extremes and endures only through moderation; extremists make the world great, the moderates give it stability.
Paul ValeryRead
It would be impossible to "love" anyone or anything one knew completely. Love is directed towards what lies hidden in its object.
Paul ValeryRead
You have certainly observed the curious fact that a given word which is perfectly clear when you hear it or use it in everyday language, and which does not give rise to any difficulty when it is engaged in the rapid movement of an ordinary sentence becomes magically embarrassing, introduces a strange resistance, frustrates any effort at definition as soon as you take it out of circulation to examine it separately and look for its meaning after taking away its instantaneous function.
Paul ValeryRead
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