God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.
D. H. LawrenceRead
What is the knocking? What is the knocking at the door in the night? It is somebody who wants to do us harm. No, no, it is the three strange angels. Admit them, admit them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote contemplates the nature of fear and the unknown, suggesting that what we perceive as threats may actually be benevolent forces.
In this quote by D. H. Lawrence, the act of knocking at the door symbolizes the intrusion of the unknown into our lives. The initial reaction to this knocking is one of fear and suspicion, as it is uncertain if the visitor comes with harmful intent or if they bring a message of hope and guidance, represented by the 'three strange angels.' This duality reflects our tendency to fear the unknown while also acknowledging the potential for positive change and enlightenment that often accompanies it.
Themes
FearUnknownAngelsIntrusionChange
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a self-help seminar discussing how to face fears could use this quote.
More from D. H. Lawrence
All quotes →A young man is afraid of his demon and puts his hand over the demon's mouth sometimes and speaks for him. And the things the young man says are very rarely poetry.
D. H. LawrenceRead
And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets beyond the caterpillar stage -it rots in the chrysalis, it never will have wings.It is anti-creation, like monkeys and baboons.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time.
D. H. LawrenceRead
... he preferred his own madness, to the regular sanity. He rejoiced in his own madness, he was free. He did not want that old sanity of the world, which was become so repulsive. He rejoiced in the new-found world of his madness. It was so fresh and delicate and so satisfying.
D. H. LawrenceRead
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