And I will show you something different from either Your shadow at morning striding behind you Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you I will show you fear in a handful of dust
T. S. EliotRead
But that night as I drove back to Montreal, I at least discovered this: that there is no simple explanation for anything important any of us do, and that the human tragedy, or the human irony, consists in the necessity of living with the consequences of actions performed under the pressure of compulsions so obscure we do not and cannot understand them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the complexity of human actions and the challenges of understanding their motivations and consequences.
Hugh Maclennan's quote delves into the intricate nature of human behavior, suggesting that our actions are often driven by obscure motivations that we may not fully comprehend. This lack of understanding leads to a human tragedy or irony, where individuals must confront the outcomes of their actions, despite not grasping the forces that compelled them. It highlights the mystery of human psychology and the burdens that come from our choices.
Themes
Human BehaviorConsequencesUnderstandingMotivationComplexity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the unpredictability of life choices.
Similar quotes
...it was always our view that in order to attain this [proletarian revolution] and the other far more important aims of the future social revolution, the working class must first take possession of the organised political power of the state and by its aid crush the resistance of the capitalist class and organise society anew.
Friedrich EngelsRead
Good bye, proud world! I'm going home; Thou art not my friend, and I'm not thine
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Freedom for supporters of the government only, for members of one party only no matter how big its membership may be is no freedom at all. Freedom is always freedom for the man who thinks differently.
Rosa LuxemburgRead
Life is the dancer and you are the dance.
Eckhart TolleRead
Marijuana gives rise to insanity -- not in its users but in the policies directed against it. A nation that sentences the possessor of a single joint to life imprisonment without parole but sets a murderer free after perhaps six years is in the grips of a deep psychosis.
Eric SchlosserRead