Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
John SteinbeckRead
Like most modern people, I don't believe in prophecy or magic and then spend half my time practicing it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the contradiction in our beliefs and actions regarding the mystical and the mundane.
In this quote, John Steinbeck points out the irony of modern human behavior: while we might profess disbelief in concepts like prophecy or magic, we often find ourselves engaging in behaviors that reflect a belief in them. This duality suggests a deeper commentary on human nature, where skepticism coexists with the allure of the unknown, revealing a complexity in how we navigate our reality.
Themes
BeliefIronyHuman NatureSkepticismMagic
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the influence of superstition in modern society.
More from John Steinbeck
All quotes →At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
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And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
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It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
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