I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.
Virginia WoolfRead
Nothing, however, can be more arrogant, though nothing is commoner than to assume that of Gods there is only one, and of religions none but the speaker’s.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Woolf critiques the arrogance of claiming exclusive truth in religion and the existence of God.
In this quote, Virginia Woolf highlights the tendency of individuals to assume that their own beliefs are the only valid ones, showing a lack of humility regarding the vastness of human spirituality and the diversity of religious thought. She suggests that such arrogance is common, yet misguided, as it overlooks the complexity and multiplicity of beliefs held by different cultures and individuals throughout history.
Themes
ArroganceReligionBeliefTruthHumility
In practice
Example use cases
During an interfaith dialogue event to emphasize the importance of understanding different beliefs.
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All quotes →Death is woven in with the violets,” said Louis. “Death and again death.”)
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He began to search among the infinite series of impressions which time had laid down, leaf upon leaf, fold upon fold softly, incessantly upon his brain; among scents, sounds; voices, harsh, hollow, sweet; and lights passing, and brooms tapping; and the wash and hush of the sea.
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I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts.
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I do think all good and evil comes from words. I have to tune myself into a good temper with something musical, and I run to a book as a child to its mother.
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London perpetually attracts, stimulates, gives me a play and a story and a poem, without any trouble, save that of moving my legs through the streets... To walk alone through London is the greatest rest.
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