Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by E.M. Forster

Quote by E.M. Forster

“Looking back on the past six months, Margaret realized the chaotic nature of our daily life, and its difference from the orderly sequence that has been fabricated by historians. Actual life is full of false clues and sign-posts that lead nowhere. With infinite effort we nerve ourselves for a crisis that never comes. The most successful career must show a waste of strength that might have removed mountains, and the most unsuccessful is not that of the man who is taken unprepared, but of him who has prepared and is never taken. On a tragedy of that kind our national morality is duly silent. It assumes that preparation against danger is in itself a good, and that men, like nations, are the better for staggering through life fully armed. The tragedy of preparedness has scarcely been handled, save by the Greeks. Life is indeed dangerous, but not in the way morality would have us believe. It is indeed unmanageable, but the essence of it is not a battle. It is unmanageable because it is a romance, and its essence is romantic beauty. Margaret hoped that for the future she would be less cautious, not more cautious, than she had been in the past.”

Quote by E.M. Forster

Book:Howards End
Create image

Work

Howards End

E.M. Forster's classic novel weaves together the lives of three families, the Wilcoxes, the Schlegels, and the Basts, as they navigate the complexities of their relationships and the shifting social landscape of the time. more

Author

E.M. Forster

Browse famous quotes and profile details for E.M. Forster. more

You May Also Like

“Good strategy depends on knowing the enemy, on knowing the enemy's nature. In making this general observation, which deceptively resembles a jeremiad, I am not advocating the invasion of Iran or Syria. I am not suggesting that the invasion of Iraq was the right move. I rather think that America is morally and intellectually unprepared for war of any kind, and should avoid engagement if possible until it can put its own house in order. Wars are fought and won within the human heart, often before any fighting begins. That is why today's intellectual and moral trends are so alarming. J.R.Nyquist”

MoralTrendsUnprepared
Author:J.R.Nyquist
Create image

“خوشبختی؛ آرمان‌شهری که درگاهِ بلندش را بسته‌اند...! کاخی سراسر شکوه و مقتدر را تصور کنید که ابرها برای رسیدن به آن، به سجده می‌افتند! و عقاب‌ها از دیدارش مست می‌شوند... این صحنه‌ها همان تصور ما نسبت به لحظه‌ای احساس خوشبختی‌ست، لحظه‌ای که باید خورشید و ماه و فلک دست به دست هم دهند تا شاید خوشبختی را چشیدیم! حالا قدم به قدم باهم به نزدیکی این کاخ برویم، بعد از سومین گام می‌بینیم سرابی بیش نبوده و کاخ‌ِ خوشبختی‌ها، درواقع همان خاکِ زیر پای‌مان بوده است...! باورکنیم، خوشبختی حس گمشده‌ای نیست؛ شاید خوشبختی، غرق شدن درچشمان کسی باشد... شاید خوشبختی، اشکی لرزان بر بلندای زندگی باشد... شاید خوشبختی، گرفتن دستانی یخ زده باشد... شاید خوشبختی همین مهربانی ما باشد مهربانی به درد، مهربانی به زخم، مهربانی به هم‌دم، مهربانی به رنج. آه، کاش به‌جای تمام دهان‌ها فریاد می‌زدیم؛ پاسبان و نگهبانِ مهر باشیم تا لایق مهربانی و خوشبختی باشیم. به لبخندهای ازسرِ مصلحت و اشک‌های پنهان دراعماقِ شب، غافل نمانیم...”

LifeFreewriteزندگی
Author:عدنان کامرانی
Create image