Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
At times our need for a sympathetic gesture is so great that we care not what exactly it signifies or how much we may have to pay for it afterwards.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We sometimes seek sympathy and comfort without considering the consequences.
This quote by E. M. Forster highlights the deep human need for empathy and support from others. It suggests that in moments of emotional vulnerability, individuals may overlook the implications of seeking comfort, prioritizing their immediate need for connection over potential future repercussions, demonstrating the complex nature of human relationships and emotional dynamics.
Themes
SympathyGestureRelationshipHuman ConnectionEmpathy
In practice
Example use cases
A therapist might use this quote to emphasize the importance of emotional support during tough times.
More from E. M. Forster
All quotes βA 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
Similar quotes
As a Western woman in the Middle East, I am often put in a different category. I am sort of like the third sex. I am not treated like a man. I am not treated like a woman. I am just treated like a journalist. That is usually really helpful.
Lynsey AddarioRead
Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships.
Sharon StoneRead
My husband is an opposition MP. Our political alliance may have fallen through, but our matrimonial alliance is intact.
Sushma SwarajRead
Over time as most people fail the survivor's exacting test of trustworthiness, she tends to withdraw from relationships. The isolation of the survivor thus persists even after she is free.
Judith Lewis HermanRead
I have scars on my hands from touching certain people.
J. D. SalingerRead
Professional marriage counselors agree that the most productive and mature way to deal with marital anger is to stomp dramatically from the room. You want to make your move before the opponent does, because the first person to stomp from the room receives valuable Argument Points that can be redeemed for exciting merchandise at the Marital Prize Redemption Center.
Dave BarryRead