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.
They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that while many talented individuals have strong maternal influences, they often experience profound struggles in life.
D. H. Lawrence's quote reflects on the dual nature of genius and maternal support, indicating that many great minds are shaped by the nurturing of their mothers yet face tragic destinies. This highlights the complexity of life, where support and struggle can coexist in the journeys of remarkable individuals. It offers a poignant reminder that greatness often comes with its own set of challenges, and that the burden of high expectations can lead to sorrow.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of maternal figures in shaping successful individuals.
More from D. H. Lawrence
All quotes βA 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.
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.
The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
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.
... 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.
Similar quotes
Whenever you are blue or lonely or stricken by some humiliating thing you did, the cure and the hope is in caring about other people.
Hope is not wishful thinking. It's not a temperament we're born with. It is a stance toward life that we can choose...not not. The real question for me, though, is whether m hope is effective, whether it produces or is just where I hide to ease my own pain.
Usability is like love. You have to care, you have to listen, and you have to be willing to change. Youβll make mistakes along the way, but thatβs where growth and forgiveness come in.
Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.
Pray thee, spare, thyself at times: for it becomes a wise man sometimes to relax the high pressure of his attention to work.
{While meditating} I sit quietly and rest in the nature of mind; I don't question or doubt whether I am in the "correct" state or not. There is no effort, only rich understanding, wakefulness, and unshakable certainty. When I am in the nature of mind, the ordinary mind is no longer there. There is no need to sustain or confirm a sense of being: I simply am.