There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
Simple and faithless as a smile and shake of the hand.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A smile and a handshake represent genuine but often fleeting connections between people.
In this quote, T. S. Eliot emphasizes the simplicity and transience of human interactions, suggesting that gestures like a smile and handshake, while meaningful, can sometimes lack depth and commitment. These actions symbolize friendliness and agreement, yet they may be performed without true intention or connection, highlighting the complex nature of relationships.
Themes
SmileHandshakeRelationshipsConnectionsInteraction
In practice
Example use cases
During a networking event, to emphasize the importance of making genuine connections, one might use this quote.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes βHalf 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 allβ 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
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I maintain, despite the moment's evidence against the claim, that we are born and grow up with a fondness for each other, and we have genes for that. We can be talked out of it, for the genetic message is like a distant music, and some of us are hard-of-hearing. Societies are noisy affairs, drowning out the sound of ourselves and our connection.
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