And this gray spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a deep longing for knowledge and understanding, even if it leads to challenging or unattainable pursuits.
In this quote, Tennyson conveys the relentless search for knowledge and understanding that characterizes the human experience. The 'gray spirit' symbolizes a yearning soul, driven by desire, to pursue knowledge that often seems distant and elusive, akin to a 'sinking star.' This reflects the notion that the quest for intellectual enlightenment can be both inspiring and daunting, pushing boundaries beyond our current understanding.
In practice
This quote could inspire a group of students during a graduation speech, emphasizing the importance of lifelong learning.
Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark; For though from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.
How many a father have I seen, A sober man, among his boys, Whose youth was full of foolish noise.
O Love! what hours were thine and mine, In lands of palm and southern pine; In lands of palm, of orange-blossom, Of olive, aloe, and maize and vine!
Earth is dry to the centre,_x000D_ But spring, a new comer,_x000D_ A spring rich and strange,_x000D_ Shall make the winds blow_x000D_ Round and round,_x000D_ Thro' and thro',_x000D_ Here and there,_x000D_ Till the air_x000D_ And the ground_x000D_ Shall be fill'd with life anew.
O love, O fire! once he drew With one long kiss my whole soul through My lips, as sunlight drinketh dew.
But thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills, And beat me down and marr’d and wasted me, And tho’ they could not end me, left me maim’d To dwell in presence of immortal youth, Immortal age beside immortal youth, And all I was, in ashes. - Tithonus
Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory.
Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Yes, you should talk," he said. "Sometimes a sad man can talk the sadness right out through his mouth. Sometimes a killin' man can talk the murder right out of his mouth.
If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race.
I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises. There has been too much talking by men who had no right to talk. It does not require many words to speak the truth.
I can see in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden.
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