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Quote by Vera Brittain

“People talked so foolishly, I thought, about the ennobling effects of suffering. No doubt the philosophy that tells you your soul grows through grief and sorrow is right--ultimately. But I don't think this is the case at first. At first, pain beyond a certain point merely makes you lifeless, and apathetic to everything but itself.”

Quote by Vera Brittain

Work

Testament of Youth

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Author

Vera Brittain
Vera Brittain

Vera Brittain was a British writer, poet, and feminist, born on December 29, 1893. She is renowned for her memoir 'Testament of Youth,' which offers a poignant account of her experiences during World War I. Brittain's writing frequently addressed women's rights and the societal impact of war. She passed away on March 29, 1970. more

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“The world is full of people suffering from the effects of their own unlived life. They become bitter, critical, or rigid, not because the world is cruel to them, but because they have betrayed their own inner possibilities. The artist who never makes art becomes cynical about those who do. The lover who never risks loving mocks romance. The thinker who never commits to a philosophy sneers at belief itself. And yet, all of them suffer, because deep down they know: the life they mock is the life they were meant to live.”

“To be a saint, never miss a single opportunity among the infinite varieties of agony. [...] Competing with Jesus, the saints" excesses repeat Golgotha, adding to it the refinements oftorture gleaned from subsequent Christian centuries. Christs crown ofthorns, imitated by the saints, caused more suffering in the world than I don’t know how many incurable diseases. Jesus was, after all, the saints’ incurable disease. [...] Jesus is responsible for so much suffering. His conscience must weigh on him very heavily, since he no longer shows any signs of life. [...] I don’t know any bigger sin than that ofJesus.”