There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
The river itself has no beginning or end. In its beginning, it is not yet the river; in the end it is no longer the river. What we call the headwaters is only a selection from among the innumerable sources which flow together to compose it. At what point in its course does the Mississippi become what the Mississippi means?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the continuity and transformation of identity over time.
T. S. Eliot's quote illustrates the idea that identity and existence are fluid concepts, akin to a river that changes throughout its course. It suggests that definitions and meanings are not fixed but evolve, asking us to consider when something truly becomes what it is, and emphasizing the complexity of origin and end in relation to identity.
Themes
RiverIdentityTransformationPhilosophyContinuity
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on identity and change, this quote could be used to illustrate the fluid nature of self.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes →Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
T. S. EliotRead
I am an Anglo-Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature and a royalist in politics.
T. S. EliotRead
If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?
T. S. EliotRead
For I have known them all already, known them all— Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
T. S. EliotRead
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
T. S. EliotRead
Similar quotes
We do not know what things look like. We know what things are like. It must be a very limiting thing,this seeing. -Aunt Beast
Madeleine L'EngleRead
In such a porcelain life, one likes to be sure that all is well lest one stumble upon one's hopes in a pile of broken crockery.
Emily DickinsonRead
If companies can refuse to provide coverage for women, what other objections to the Affordable Care Act will we see based on 'religious grounds'? For that matter, will 'religious freedom' be used as an excuse to discriminate against other minorities and disenfranchised groups across the board? Where will it end?
Al SharptonRead
Men write many fine and plausible arguments in support of monarchy, but the fact remains that where every man has a voice, brutal laws are impossible
Mark TwainRead
No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.
Bob DylanRead
The greatest myth about mass incarceration is that it has been driven by crime and crime rates. It's just not true.
Michelle AlexanderRead