There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music.
T. S. EliotRead
There are three conditions which often look alike Yet differ completely, flourish in the same hedgerow: Attachment to self and to things and to persons, detachment From self and from things and from persons; and, growing between them, indifference, ... .
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote explores the distinctions between attachment, detachment, and indifference in human relationships and self-perception.
T. S. Eliot's quote reflects on three states of emotional engagement: attachment, which involves a strong bond to oneself, others, and material possessions; detachment, characterized by a release of that bond; and indifference, which represents a lack of concern or care altogether. The quote invites us to consider how these states affect our experiences of life and relationships, emphasizing that while they may look similar, they bring about different emotional responses and consequences.
Themes
AttachmentDetachmentIndifferenceRelationshipsSelf
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion on human emotions, one might reference Eliot's quote to illustrate the complexity of attachment.
More from T. S. Eliot
All quotes →Half 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 all— 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
Similar quotes
We were masters of nature, masters of the world. We had forgotten everything--death, fatigue, our natural needs. Stronger than cold or hunger, stronger than the shots and the desire to die, condemned and wandering, mere numbers, we were the only men on earth.
Elie WieselRead
Anarchists try to identify power structures. They urge those exercising power to justify themselves. This justification does not succeed most of the time.
Noam ChomskyRead
Our challenge is to join forces of the old and the new- experience and experiment, history and destiny, the world of man and the new world of science- but always in accordance with the never-changing word of God.
Thomas S. MonsonRead
Pacifism is objectively pro-fascist. This is elementary common sense. If you hamper the war effort of one side, you automatically help out that of the other. Nor is there any real way of remaining outside such a war as the present one. In practice, 'he that is not with me is against me'.
George OrwellRead
Many religions now come before us with ingratiating smirks and outspread hands, like an unctuous merchant in a bazaar. They offer consolation and solidarity and uplift, competing as they do in a marketplace. But we have a right to remember how barbarically they behaved when they were strong and were making an offer that people could not refuse.
Christopher HitchensRead
My day passes between logic, whistling, going for walks, and being depressed. I wish to God that I were more intelligent and everything would finally become clear to me - or else that I needn't live much longer.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead