When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.
Edith HamiltonRead
He was there beside her, yet she was far away from him, aone with her outraged love and her ruined life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the emotional distance that can exist in a relationship despite physical presence.
In this quote, Edith Hamilton captures the paradox of love where one partner may physically be present yet emotionally distant. It explores the idea that love can be accompanied by profound feelings of isolation and despair, particularly when faced with struggles or heartbreak, illustrating the inner turmoil of a love that feels unattainable despite proximity.
Themes
LoveEmotional DistanceHeartbreakSeparationDespair
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the complexities of relationships in a relationship counseling session.
More from Edith Hamilton
All quotes →The power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat.
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Theories that go counter to the facts of human nature are foredoomed.
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To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful ... was a mark of the Greek spirit.
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Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom.
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So far, we do not seem appalled at the prospect of exactly the same kind of education being applied to all the school children from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but there is an uneasiness in the air, a realization that the individual is growing less easy to find; an idea, perhaps, of what standardization might become when the units are not machines, but human beings.
Edith HamiltonRead
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