Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
They cared for no one, they were outside humanity, and death, had it come, would only have continued their pursuit of a retreating horizon.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the detachment from human connection and the relentless pursuit of unattainable goals.
In this quote, E. M. Forster explores the idea of individuals who are so consumed by their ambitions and desires that they become disconnected from humanity itself. The metaphor of a 'retreating horizon' symbolizes goals that are perpetually just out of reach, suggesting that this relentless pursuit leads to a life devoid of meaningful relationships and ultimately makes death an indifferent end rather than a culmination of human experience.
Themes
DetachmentAmbitionHumanityPursuitGoals
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the dangers of ambition, this quote can emphasize the importance of human connections.
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.
E. M. ForsterRead
One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
E. M. ForsterRead
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