There rise authors now and then, who seem proof against the mutability of language, because they have rooted themselves in the unchanging principles of human nature.
Washington IrvingRead
Men are always doomed to be duped, not so much by the arts of the other as by their own imagination. They are always wooing goddesses, and marrying mere mortals.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often deceive themselves more than they are deceived by others, mistaking illusions for reality.
This quote by Washington Irving suggests that individuals frequently fall victim to their own fantasies and aspirations, leading them to pursue unattainable ideals instead of accepting the reality around them. It highlights the human tendency to romanticize possibilities, ultimately resulting in disappointment when faced with the ordinary aspects of life.
Themes
IllusionRealityAspirationsDisappointmentSelf-Deception
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the dangers of idealism, this quote can serve as a cautionary reminder.
More from Washington Irving
All quotes βThere is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.
Washington IrvingRead
Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.
Washington IrvingRead
Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.
Washington IrvingRead
The easiest thing to do, whenever you fail, is to put yourself down by blaming your lack of ability for your misfortunes.
Washington IrvingRead
If I can, by a lucky chance, in these uneasy days, rub out one wrinkle from the brow of care, or beguile the heavy heart of one moment of sadness; if I can, how and then, prompt a happier view of human nature, and make my reader more in good humor with his fellow-beings and himself, surely, I shall not have written in vain.
Washington IrvingRead
Similar quotes
All things must; man is the only creature that wills.
Friedrich SchillerRead
...for whether we want to or not, we belong to our time and we share in its opinions, its feelings, even its delusions.
Henri MatisseRead
She [Alice] went on "And how do you know that you're mad?" "To begin with," said the Cat, "a dog's not mad. You grant that?" "I suppose so," said Alice. "Well, then," the Cat went on, "you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags it's tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."
Lewis CarrollRead
The bud disappears when the blossom breaks through, and we might say that the former is refuted by the latter; in the same way when the fruit comes, the blossom may be explained to be a false form of the plant's existence, for the fruit appears as its true nature in place of the blossom.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelRead
Become the director, producer, choreographer of your own story
Deepak ChopraRead
Chimerical and empty being, your name alone has caused more blood to flow on the face of the earth than any political war ever will. Return to the nothingness from which the mad hope and ridiculous fright of men dared call you forth to their misfortune. You only appeared as a torment for the human race. What crimes would have been spared the world, if they had choked the first imbecile who thought of speaking of you.
Marquis De SadeRead