The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.
James JoyceRead
I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it calls itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use -- silence, exile, and cunning.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the importance of individual belief and the necessity to live authentically, rejecting that which no longer resonates personally.
In this quotation, James Joyce emphasizes the significance of personal conviction and the need to live true to oneself, even when faced with societal pressures or expectations. He declares his refusal to serve systems, be they his homeland, religion, or other institutions, that do not align with his beliefs, advocating for personal expression through art and life. The mention of using 'silence, exile, and cunning' as his only defenses highlights a deep-seated commitment to authenticity and the complexities of navigating a world that often demands conformity.
Themes
BeliefAuthenticityExpressionIndividualityArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a graduation speech about following one's passion and beliefs.
More from James Joyce
All quotes βI think a child should be allowed to take his father's or mother's name at will on coming of age. Paternity is a legal fiction.
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If he had smiled why would he have smiled? To reflect that each one who enters imagines himself to be the first to enter whereas he is always the last term of a preceding series even if the first term of a succeeding one, each imagining himself to be first, last, only and alone whereas he is neither first nor last nor only nor alone in a series originating in and repeated to infinity.
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Gentle lady, do not sing Sad songs about the end of love; Lay aside sadness and sing How love that passes is enough. Sing about the long deep sleep Of lovers that are dead, and how In the grave all love shall sleep: Love is aweary now.
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I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.
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The movements which work revolutions in the world are born out of the dreams and visions in a peasant's heart on the hillside.
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