Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
In time, Mr Hall, one gets to recognize that sneer, that hardness, for fornication extends far beyond the actual deed. Were it a deed only, I for one would not hold it anathema. But when the nations went a whoring they invariably ended by denying God, I think, and until all sexual irregularities and not some of them are penal the Church will never reconquer England.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that immoral actions go beyond the physical acts themselves and have broader implications for society and faith.
E. M. Forster's quote reflects on the societal consequences of moral decline, particularly through the lens of sexuality and its impact on the relationship between nations and their faith in God. He argues that the true degradation is not merely the physical act of fornication but the denial of spiritual values that often follows such acts. Forster emphasizes the need for an understanding that addresses all forms of sexual irregularity in order to restore moral integrity, particularly in the context of the Church's influence in England.
Themes
FornicationMoralityFaithSocietySpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about moral decline in society, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of addressing broader spiritual issues.
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.
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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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