Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust. In a closely beleaguered city every sentry is a potential traitor.
Graham GreeneRead
Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing serves as a therapeutic outlet for expressing and coping with human emotions.
In this quote, Graham Greene reflects on the therapeutic nature of writing, suggesting that for many, creative expression is essential for managing the emotional turmoil and challenges of life. He questions how those who do not engage in creative activities cope with the inherent struggles of being human, emphasizing the importance of art as a means of emotional release and understanding.
Themes
WritingTherapyEmotionsArtCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
During a writer's workshop, this quote can be shared to highlight the therapeutic benefits of writing.
More from Graham Greene
All quotes →It seemed to Scobie that life was immeasurably long. Couldn’t the test of man have been carried out in fewer years? Couldn’t we have committed our first major sin at seven, have ruined ourselves for love or hate at ten, have clutched at redemption on a fifteen-year-old deathbed?
Graham GreeneRead
God is love. I don't say the heart doesn't feel a taste of it, but what a taste. The smallest glass of love mixed with a pint pot of ditch-water. We wouldn't recognize that love. It might even look like hate. It would be enough to scare us - God's love.
Graham GreeneRead
Of two hearts one is always warm and one is always cold: the cold heart is more precious than diamonds: the warm heart has no value and is thrown away.
Graham GreeneRead
Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.
Graham GreeneRead
Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.
Graham GreeneRead
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