We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.
Tom RobbinsRead
On their sofas of spice and feathers, the concubines also slept fretfully. In those days the Earth was still flat, and people dreamed often of falling over edges.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the uncertainties and fears associated with a naive understanding of the world.
Tom Robbins' quote suggests a time when people lived with a primitive worldview, filled with fear and anxiety about the unknown, much like how one might feel on the edge of a frightening precipice. The imagery of concubines resting on luxurious sofas juxtaposed with their fretful sleep symbolizes the tension between comfort and insecurity, emphasizing how even those in privileged positions can suffer from existential worries.
Themes
FearUncertaintyExistenceWorldviewEdges
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a philosophical discussion on how fears shape our perceptions of reality.
More from Tom Robbins
All quotes →There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, and nothing worth killing for.
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The Divine was beyond description, beyond knowing, beyond comprehension. To say that the Divine was Creation divided by Destruction was as close as one could come to definition. But the puny of soul, the dull of wit, weren't content with that. They wanted to hang a face on the Divine. They went so far as to attribute petty human emotions - anger, jealousy, etc - to it, not stopping to realize that if God were a being, even a supreme being, our prayers would have bored him to death long ago.
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If you're honest, you sooner or later have to confront your values. Then you're forced to separate what is right from what is merely legal. This puts you metaphysically on the run. America is full of metaphysical outlaws.
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