There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
Men dislike being awakened from their death in life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that many people are content to live in a state of complacency and avoid facing the deeper truths of life.
T. S. Eliot's quote speaks to the human tendency to resist change and self-awareness, describing a state where individuals may feel dead inside due to a lack of engagement with their true selves or the world around them. It reflects on how people often fear awakening from their 'death in life', preferring the security of their established routines and comforts, even if those routines may lead to an unfulfilled existence.
Themes
LifeSelf-AwarenessComplacencyChangeAwakening
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech encouraging self-reflection, you might use this quote to highlight the importance of personal growth.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes βHalf of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
T. S. EliotRead
I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
T. S. EliotRead
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
T. S. EliotRead
For I have known them all already, known them allβ Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
T. S. EliotRead
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
T. S. EliotRead
Similar quotes
What about a man who sits down to wonder Why life has cheated him? Thinks about his situation Hangs his head and cries Will we pretend, his problems don't exist? He's reaching out for help-will we selfishly resist? What about your brother? He's crying What about your brother? He's dying What about your brother?
Mitch AlbomRead
Hip-hop saved my life, man. It's the only thing I've ever been even decent at. I don't know how to do anything else.
EminemRead
Yes, you live with your feet in the mud and there's no time to be thinking about how you got in or how you're going to get out.
Aleksandr SolzhenitsynRead
Wherever life takes us, there are always moments of wonder.
Jimmy CarterRead
It was as if I were writing letters to hold together the pieces of my crumbling life.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Our house was littered with books- in the kitchen, under the beds, stuck between the couch pillows--far too many for her the ever finish. I suppose I thought if my grandmother kept up her interests, she wouldn't die; she'd have to stay around to finish the books she was so fond of. "I've got to get to the bottom of this one," she'd say, as if a book were no different from a pond or a lake. I thought she'd go on reading forever but it didn't work out that way.
Alice HoffmanRead