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

The evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness, and 'consciousness' cannot evolve unconsciously. The evolution of man is the evolution of his will, and 'will' cannot evolve involuntarily.
G. I. GurdjieffRead
Antitrust is the way that the government promotes markets when there are market failures. It has nothing to do with the idea of free information.
Bill GatesRead
Perhaps we all lose our sense of reality to the precise degree to which we are engrossed in our own work, and perhaps that is why we see in the increasing complexity of our mental constructs a means for greater understanding, even while intuitively we know that we shall never be able to fathom the imponderables that govern our course through life.
W. G. SebaldRead
Demands for solidarity can quickly turn into demands for groupthink, making it difficult to express nuance.
Roxane GayRead
Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone - except God.
Billy GrahamRead
Only then, approaching my fortieth birthday, I made philosophy my life's work.
Karl JaspersRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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