We have done with Hope and Honour. we are lost to Love and Truth, We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung; And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth. God help us, for we knew the worst too young!
Rudyard KiplingRead
There rise her timeless capitals of empires daily born, whose plinths are laid at midnight and whose streets are packed at morn; and here come tired youths and maids that feign to love or sin in tones like rusty razor blades to tunes like smitten tin.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the cyclical nature of society, where new empires and relationships arise, often rooted in ephemeral experiences.
Rudyard Kipling's quote metaphorically describes the relentless ebb and flow of civilization and human interactions. It suggests that new empires and their societal structures emerge with the dawn, while the actions and emotions of youth—both genuine love and the facade of sin—are juxtaposed against the backdrop of everyday life, marked by struggle and superficiality. The imagery of 'rusty razor blades' and 'smitten tin' conveys a sense of rawness and dissonance in these experiences, highlighting the transient and often painful humanity in the pursuit of love and fulfillment.
Themes
EmpiresYouthLoveSocietyStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
During a poetry reading about the human experience, this quote could illustrate the fleeting nature of youth.
More from Rudyard Kipling
All quotes →Humble because of knowledge; mighty by sacrifice.
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Hear and attend and listen; for this is what befell and be-happened and became and was, O my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild. The dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild -as wild as wild could be - and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself and all places were alike to him
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I keep six honest serving men.
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And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden, You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
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Savings represent much more than mere money value. They are the proof that the saver is worth something in himself. Any fool can waste; any fool can muddle; but it takes something more of a man to save and the more he saves the more of a man he makes of himself. Waste and extravagance unsettle a man's mind for every crisis; thrift, which means some form of self-restraint, steadies it.
Rudyard KiplingRead
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