We have done with Hope and Honour. we are lost to Love and Truth, We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung; And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth. God help us, for we knew the worst too young!
Rudyard KiplingRead
He wrapped himself in quotations - as a beggar would enfold himself in the purple of Emperors.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that people often cloak themselves in the ideas and words of others for comfort or status.
Rudyard Kipling's quote reflects on the nature of individuals who seek validation and identity through the words of influential figures or texts. Just as a beggar may wrap themselves in the fine cloak of an emperor to gain a semblance of dignity, people often surround themselves with the quotations of great minds to elevate their own perceived value or to find solace in wisdom that is not inherently their own.
Themes
QuotationsIdentityWisdomValidationImitation
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on originality, one might say, 'He wrapped himself in quotations - as a beggar would enfold himself in the purple of Emperors.'
More from Rudyard Kipling
All quotes βHumble because of knowledge; mighty by sacrifice.
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Hear and attend and listen; for this is what befell and be-happened and became and was, O my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild. The dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild -as wild as wild could be - and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself and all places were alike to him
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I keep six honest serving men.
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And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden, You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
Rudyard KiplingRead
Savings represent much more than mere money value. They are the proof that the saver is worth something in himself. Any fool can waste; any fool can muddle; but it takes something more of a man to save and the more he saves the more of a man he makes of himself. Waste and extravagance unsettle a man's mind for every crisis; thrift, which means some form of self-restraint, steadies it.
Rudyard KiplingRead
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Lives of great men oft remind us as we o'er their pages turn, That we too may leave behind us - Letters that we ought to burn.
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