There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
Where is all the knowledge we lost with information?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the value of knowledge in a world overwhelmed by information, suggesting that true understanding is often lost.
T. S. Eliot's quote reflects on the paradox of modern existence, where an abundance of information often leads to confusion and a lack of genuine understanding. It implies that despite having access to vast amounts of information today, the deeper wisdom and insights that constitute true knowledge seem to be diminishing or overlooked, prompting a reflection on what it means to be informed in an age of information overload.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of technology on learning, this quote can highlight the importance of critical thinking.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes βHalf 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.
I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
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.
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
Similar quotes
When you doubt between words, use the plainest, the commonest, the most idiomatic. Eschew fine words as you would rouge; love simple ones as you would the native roses on your cheek.
Accept what comes to you totally & completely so that you can appreciate it, learn from it & then let it go.
Life is a place where it is necessary to move gently. Whether it be in thought, speech, or action, the rhythm must be controlled; the law of harmony must be observed in all that one does. If there is anything that will bring satisfaction it is diving deep into Love, and then we shall realize that there is nothing which is not just; we shall never again say that anything is unjust. This is the point the wise reach, and they call it the culmination of wisdom.
Magic enables man to carry out with confidence his important tasks, to maintain his poise and his mental integrity in fits of anger, in the throes of hate, of unrequited love, of despair and anxiety. The function of magic is to ritualize man's optimism, to enhance his faith in the victory of hope over fear. Magic expresses the greater value for man of confidence over doubt, of steadfastness over vacillation, of optimism over pessimism.
Stupidity is an elemental force for which no earthquake is a match.
Mingle some brief folly with wisdom now: To be foolish is sweet at times.