Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
I have the most ill-regulated memory. It does those things which it ought not to do and leaves undone the things it ought to have done. But it has not yet gone on strike altogether.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the imperfections of memory, acknowledging its flaws while still valuing its presence.
Dorothy L. Sayers highlights the challenges of memory, describing it as unreliable and often neglectful in its duties. Despite these shortcomings, she expresses a sense of appreciation for memory, recognizing that it continues to function in some capacity rather than failing completely, suggesting a nuanced relationship with one's own mental faculties.
Themes
MemoryImperfectionAppreciationCognitionMental Faculties
In practice
Example use cases
In a conversation about the challenges of aging, I might say, 'As Dorothy L. Sayers noted, I have the most ill-regulated memory.'
More from Dorothy L. Sayers
All quotes →But suppose one doesn't quite know which one wants to put first. Suppose," said Harriet, falling back on words which were not her own, "suppose one is cursed with both a heart and a brain?" "You can usually tell," said Miss de Vine, "by seeing what kind of mistakes you make. I'm quite sure that one never makes fundamental mistakes about the thing one really wants to do. Fundamental mistakes arise out of lack of genuine interest. In my opinion, that is.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
. . . the fellow's got a bee in his bonnet. Thinks God's a secretion of the liver--all right once in a way, but there's no need to keep on about it. There's nothing you can't prove if your outlook is only sufficiently limited.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
You're thinking that people don't keep up old jealousies for twenty years or so. Perhaps not. Not just primitive, brute jealousy. That means a word and a blow. But the thing that rankles is hurt vanity. That sticks. Humiliation. And we've all got a sore spot we don't like to have touched.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
None of us feels the true love of God till we realize how wicked we are. But you can't teach people that - they have to learn by experience.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
What is repugnant to every human being is to be reckoned always as a member of a class and not as an individual person.
Dorothy L. SayersRead
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