O suffering, sad humanity! O ye afflicted ones, who lie Steeped to the lips in misery, Longing, yet afraid to die, Patient, though sorely tried!
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
The highest exercise of imagination is not to devise what has no existence, but rather to perceive what really exists, though unseen by the outward eye-not creation, but insight.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True imagination involves understanding the real world beyond what is immediately visible, focusing on insight rather than mere creation.
This quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow emphasizes that the greatest use of imagination is not in fabricating new ideas or things that do not exist, but in recognizing and understanding the deeper truths and realities that often go unnoticed by the ordinary senses. It suggests that true insight allows us to see the world more clearly and profoundly, enhancing our appreciation of what is truly there.
Themes
ImaginationInsightPerceptionRealityUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about creativity, one might say this quote to inspire students to look beyond surface appearances.
More from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All quotes βThere are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
To be seventy years old is like climbing the Alps. You reach a snow-crowned summit, and see behind you the deep valley stretching miles and miles away, and before you other summits higher and whiter, which you may have strength to climb, or may not. Then you sit down and meditate and wonder which it will be.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
God is not dead; nor doth He sleep; ... _x000D_ The wrong shall fail,_x000D_ The right prevail,_x000D_ With peace on earth, good will to men.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
In the long run men hit only what they aim at.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowRead
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