Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
There was something better in life than this rubbish, if only he could get to it—love—nobility—big spaces where passion clasped peace, spaces no science could reach, but they existed for ever, full of woods some of them, and arched with majestic sky and a friend. . .
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a longing for deeper experiences in life, particularly love and connection, which transcend material concerns.
E. M. Forster's quote reflects a yearning for something more meaningful than the trivialities of everyday life. It emphasizes that true fulfillment can be found in love, nobility, and the beauty of the natural world, which science cannot fully comprehend or define. This longing for profound experiences reminds us of the emotional and spiritual aspects of existence that are often overlooked in a materialistic society.
Themes
LoveLifePassionNaturePeace
In practice
Example use cases
During a wedding toast, one could reference this quote to emphasize the importance of love in a person's life.
More from E. M. Forster
All quotes →A poem is true if it hangs together. Information points to something else. A poem points to nothing but itself.
E. M. ForsterRead
One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life.
E. M. ForsterRead
Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.
E. M. ForsterRead
The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance.
E. M. ForsterRead
One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
E. M. ForsterRead
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