Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
But nothing in India is identifiable, the mere asking of a question causes it to disappear or to merge in something else.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The complexity of India makes it difficult to define or pin down its essence; questions often lead to deeper mysteries.
E. M. Forster's quote reflects the intricate and multifaceted nature of India, suggesting that the country is not easily understood or categorized. In asking questions about India, one may find that answers blend into greater complexities or reveal different layers of cultural, social, and historical nuances, emphasizing the elusiveness of a singular identity or truth.
Themes
IndiaIdentityComplexityPhilosophyQuestions
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about cultural identity at an academic seminar.
More from E. M. Forster
All quotes βA poem is true if it hangs together. Information points to something else. A poem points to nothing but itself.
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One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life.
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Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.
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The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance.
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One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
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