The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.
James JoyceRead
If he had smiled why would he have smiled? To reflect that each one who enters imagines himself to be the first to enter whereas he is always the last term of a preceding series even if the first term of a succeeding one, each imagining himself to be first, last, only and alone whereas he is neither first nor last nor only nor alone in a series originating in and repeated to infinity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote explores the nature of individuality and the illusion of being unique in a continuous series of existence.
James Joyce's quote reflects on the human tendency to perceive oneself as unique or alone, despite being part of an ongoing continuum of existence. It highlights the idea that everyone who enters a new experience believes they are the first to do so, yet they are in fact part of a larger series of individuals who have come before and will come after, thus illustrating the shared nature of human experience and the interconnectedness of all individuals.
Themes
IndividualityExistenceContinuumSeriesHuman Experience
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the interconnectedness of human experience, one could use this quote to emphasize that no one is truly alone.
More from James Joyce
All quotes →I think a child should be allowed to take his father's or mother's name at will on coming of age. Paternity is a legal fiction.
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Gentle lady, do not sing Sad songs about the end of love; Lay aside sadness and sing How love that passes is enough. Sing about the long deep sleep Of lovers that are dead, and how In the grave all love shall sleep: Love is aweary now.
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I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.
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The movements which work revolutions in the world are born out of the dreams and visions in a peasant's heart on the hillside.
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She respected her husband in the same way as she respected the General Post Office, as something large, secure and fixed: and though she knew the small number of his talents she appreciated his abstract value as a male.
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