If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility.
What do we know but that we face one another in this place?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the shared human experience and the inevitability of our interactions with one another.
William Butler Yeats' quote prompts deep reflection on the nature of human existence, suggesting that despite the uncertainties of life, what remains constant is our engagement with each other in the present moment. It emphasizes the importance of relationships and connections that shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, reminding us that facing one another is an essential part of our journey through life.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community, one might say, 'What do we know but that we face one another in this place?' to emphasize the importance of unity.
More from William Butler Yeats
All quotes βIt was my first meeting with a philosophy that confirmed my vague speculations and seemed at once logical and boundless.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart.
For he would be thinking of love Till the stars had run away And the shadows eaten the moon.
Love is created and preserved by intellectual analysis, for we love only that which is unique, and it belongs to contemplation, not to action, for we would not change that which we love.
Similar quotes
They are more human and more brotherly towards one another, it seems to me, than we are. But perhaps that is merely because they feel themselves to be more unfortunate than us.
There is only one good. And that is to act according to the dictates of one's conscience.
Every new development for the last three centuries has brought men closer to a state of affairs in which absolutely nothing would be recognized in the whole world as possessing a claim to obedience except the authority of the State. The majority of people in Europe obey nothing else.
Few men think, yet all will have opinions.
Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! ecstasies! gone down the American river! Dreams! adorations! illumnations! religions! the whole boatload of sensitive bullshit!
I believe there is no philosophical high-road in science, with epistemological signposts. No, we are in a jungle and find our way by trial and error, building our road behind us as we proceed.