The secret was such an old one now, had so grown into me and become a part of myself, that I could not tear it away.
Interpretation
A secret becomes an intrinsic part of one's identity over time, making it difficult to separate from oneself.
In this quote, Charles Dickens reflects on the profound impact that secrets can have on an individual’s identity. He suggests that a secret, especially one held for a long time, can intertwine with one’s sense of self, becoming so ingrained that it feels impossible to remove or forget. This illustrates the deep connection between our inner lives and the hidden truths we keep, highlighting how such secrets can shape our thoughts, behaviors, and even our perception of reality.
In practice
In a conversation about the difficulties of embracing one's past, one might say, 'As Charles Dickens once wrote, the secret was such an old one now, had so grown into me...'
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
It is our own evil thoughts which madden us.
To me the Bible is not God, but it is God's voice, and I do not hear it without awe
I love to talk about cooking and recipes, but I love as much talking about how food and cooking can change the world.
There is no justification without sanctification, no forgiveness without renewal of life, no real faith from which the fruits of new obedience do not grow.
At the beginning of my career, I visited a Sudanese refugee camp in Uganda and saw a two-year-old girl die before my eyes. The technical term for what this girl experienced, when you are too thin and malnourished for your size, is childhood wasting. And it was, indeed, a waste. A young life - with all its potential - gone forever.
Action is an attempt to substitute a more satisfactory state of affairs for a less satisfactory one. We call such a willfully induced alteration an exchange.
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