The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.
James JoyceRead
While you have a thing it can be taken from you…..but when you give it, you have given it. no robber can take it from you. It is yours then forever when you have given it. It will be yours always. That is to give.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The act of giving something is more permanent and valuable than merely possessing it, as it ultimately belongs to the giver in a meaningful way.
In this quote, James Joyce emphasizes the enduring nature of generosity. He suggests that while material possessions can be taken away, the act of giving creates a lasting bond, making what you have shared a part of your essence. Once something is given, it transcends mere ownership and secures a deeper, personal connection that enriches both the giver and the receiver, marking its place in the giver’s memory and identity.
Themes
GivingGenerosityOwnershipConnectionService
In practice
Example use cases
In a charity event where the focus is on helping others.
More from James Joyce
All quotes →I think a child should be allowed to take his father's or mother's name at will on coming of age. Paternity is a legal fiction.
James JoyceRead
If he had smiled why would he have smiled? To reflect that each one who enters imagines himself to be the first to enter whereas he is always the last term of a preceding series even if the first term of a succeeding one, each imagining himself to be first, last, only and alone whereas he is neither first nor last nor only nor alone in a series originating in and repeated to infinity.
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Gentle lady, do not sing Sad songs about the end of love; Lay aside sadness and sing How love that passes is enough. Sing about the long deep sleep Of lovers that are dead, and how In the grave all love shall sleep: Love is aweary now.
James JoyceRead
I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.
James JoyceRead
The movements which work revolutions in the world are born out of the dreams and visions in a peasant's heart on the hillside.
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