I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
John Le CarreRead
We've had enough." He took back the report and jammed it under his arm. "We've had a bellyful, in fact." "And like everyone who's had enough," said Control as Alleline noisily left the room, "he wants more.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that when one reaches a limit, they often still desire more, reflecting a paradox of human satisfaction.
In this quote, John Le Carré explores the complex nature of human desires and dissatisfaction. The phrase 'We've had enough' implies a feeling of saturation or fatigue, yet the response emphasizes a contrasting truth: that reaching a limit can ignite a stronger craving for more. This duality speaks to the human condition, which often finds itself in a cycle of wanting despite having enough, revealing the insatiable nature of desire and ambition.
In practice
In a discussion about consumerism and the endless desire for more material goods.
I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
In every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then there has been the public perception of why the war was being fought. In every crisis, the issues have been far more complex than the public has been allowed to know.
The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other cat’s mat is a story.
The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.
Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel. We all want to be entertained at a very high level.
If something is not beautiful, it is probably not true.
'Thou shalt not kill' does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings and this commandment was inscribed in the human breast long before it was proclaimed from Sinai.
I saw a man pursuing the horizon
...in the decline of life shame and grief are of short duration; whether it be that we bear easily what we have borne long; or that, finding ourselves in age less regarded, we less regard others; or, that we look with slight regard upon afflictions to which we know that the hand of death is about to put an end.
Christian worship is the most momentous, most urgent, most glorious action that can take place in human life.
The only conception of freedom I can have is that of the prisoner or the individual in the midst of the State. The only one I know is freedom of thought and action.
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