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Nothing can so pierce the soul as the uttermost sigh of the body.
George Santayana
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The body’s physical expressions, like a sigh, can deeply touch the soul.

This quote by George Santayana suggests that the profound feelings and emotions we experience are often expressed through our physical states, such as sighs. It implies that the body and soul are interconnected, and sometimes it is the subtle expressions of our physical being that communicate the deepest sentiments.

Themes

SoulSighBodyEmotionExpression

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion on the connection between physical and emotional health, this quote could illustrate the importance of acknowledging body language.

More from George Santayana

It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
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There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
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Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
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To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
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The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
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