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
... 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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote speaks to the celebration of individuality and the rejection of conventional norms.
In this quote, D. H. Lawrence emphasizes the value of embracing one's unique perspective and experiences, even if they may be considered 'madness' by societal standards. The speaker finds liberation in their distinct worldview, which contrasts sharply with what is deemed 'sane' or normal, suggesting that true freedom is found in accepting one’s inner complexities and rejecting the 'repulsive' nature of conformity.
Themes
MadnessSanityIndividualityFreedomConformity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for creative thinking, this quote illustrates how embracing one's unique thoughts can lead to innovation.
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
When the emotional soul receives a wounding shock, the soul seems to recover as the body recovers. But this is only in appearance. Slowly, slowly the wound to the soul begins to make itself felt, like a bruise, which only slowly deepens its terrible ache, till it fills all the psyche. And when we think we have recovered and forgotten, it is then that the terrible after-effects have to be encountered at their worst.
D. H. LawrenceRead
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People felt themselves watching him even before they knew that there was anything different about him. His eyes made a person think that he heard things that no one else had ever heard, that he knew things no one had ever guessed before. He did not seem quite human.
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I would not have traded the delights of my suffering for anything in the world.
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And what greater calamity can fall upon a nation than the loss of worship.
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