We must never expect discretion in first love: it is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless the joy is allowed to overflow, it will choke you.
Alexandre DumasRead
I hate this life of the fashionable world, always ordered, measured, ruled, like our music-paper. What I have always wished for, desired, and coveted, is the life of an artist, free and independent, relying only on my own resources, and accountable only to myself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a longing for artistic freedom over the constraints of societal expectations.
In this quote, Alexandre Dumas contrasts the rigid and conventional lifestyle of the fashionable world with the liberated and autonomous existence of an artist. He expresses a profound desire for independence, creativity, and self-reliance, emphasizing the importance of personal fulfillment over societal rules and norms.
Themes
ArtFreedomIndependenceSocietyCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about pursuing passion over convention, one might quote Dumas to inspire others to embrace their artistic spirit.
More from Alexandre Dumas
All quotes →There are two ways of seeing: with the body and with the soul. The body's sight can sometimes forget, but the soul remembers forever.
Alexandre DumasRead
I do not often laugh, sir, as you may perceive by the air of my countenance; but nevertheless, I retain the privilege of laughing when I please.
Alexandre DumasRead
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.
Alexandre DumasRead
Those born to wealth, and who have the means of gratifying every wish, know not what is the real happiness of life, just as those who have been tossed on the stormy waters of the ocean on a few frail planks can alone realize the blessings of fair weather.
Alexandre DumasRead
It is the way of weakened minds to see everything through a black cloud. The soul forms its own horizons; your soul is darkened, and consequently the sky of the future appears stormy and unpromising
Alexandre DumasRead
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