QuoteProject
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
T. S. Eliot
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Humans often struggle to confront harsh truths and realities.

This quote by T. S. Eliot suggests that the human psyche has limitations when it comes to enduring and accepting the full weight of reality. It implies that people often seek escape or distraction from difficult truths, as the burden of these realities can be overwhelming.

Themes

RealityTruthHuman ConditionPsychologyAcceptance

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion about mental health, one might say this quote to highlight the importance of facing our inner struggles.

More from T. S. Eliot

There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
T. S. EliotRead
I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
T. S. EliotRead
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
T. S. EliotRead
For I have known them all already, known them allβ€” Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
T. S. EliotRead
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
T. S. EliotRead

Similar quotes

When we say gender is performed, we usually mean that we've taken on a role or we're acting in some way and that our acting or our role playing is crucial to the gender that we are and the gender that we present to the world.
Judith ButlerRead
I try to take what voice I have and I give it to those who don’t have one at all.
W. Eugene SmithRead
Truth is weirder than any fiction I've seen.
Hunter S. ThompsonRead
The Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America - except whether we are proud to be Americans.
Robert KennedyRead
Why I oppose the nuclear-arms race: I prefer the human race.
Edward AbbeyRead
No government ought to be without censors; and where the press is free no one ever will.
Thomas JeffersonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.