Major writing is to say what has been seen, so that it need never be said again.
Delmore SchwartzRead
I am a book I neither wrote nor read.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that our lives are shaped by experiences and influences beyond our control.
Delmore Schwartz's quote reflects the idea that individuals are complex entities formed by various external factors, including society, culture, and the experiences of others. We may not have authored our stories or fully understood them, yet they still profoundly impact our identities and perspectives. This emphasizes the ongoing journey of self-discovery and the role of external influences in shaping who we are.
In practice
Using this quote during a discussion about self-identity at a literary event.
Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.
It is not a man's duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support. If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man's shoulders.
What I am is a heretic who's recanted and, thereby, in everyone's eyes, saved his soul. Everyone's eyes but one, who knows deep down inside that all he has saved is his skin.
The demands of internal growth are incomparably more important to us...than the need for any external expansion of our power.
Power is not sufficient evidence of truth.
Every Night and every Morn Some to Misery are born. Every Morn and every Night Some are born to Sweet Delight, Some are born to Endless Night.
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