It is comparatively easy to become a writer; staying a writer, resisting formulaic work, generating ones own creativity - thats a much tougher matter.
When childhood dies, its corpses are called adults and they enter society, one of the politer names of hell. That is why we dread children, even if we love them, they show us the state of our decay.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the loss of innocence with adulthood, suggesting it leads to a decay of the joyful aspects of childhood.
Brian Aldiss's quote critiques the transition from childhood to adulthood, suggesting that the innocent and pure nature of childhood is lost, leaving behind 'corpses' that symbolize the emotional and imaginative decay inherent in adult life. It highlights a societal disdain for the truths that children embody, recognizing their unfiltered perspective as a mirror reflecting the loss of vitality and joy in adults.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the impact of childhood experiences in adulthood, this quote serves as a reflective statement on societal expectations.
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All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. ... Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.
It was by one Union that we achieved our independence and liberties, and by it alone can they be maintained.
Any man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still a communist at the age of thirty is an even bigger fool.
I have finally decided to write my book on the spiritual life. I mean to put down as simply as possible the sort of ascetical or mystical teaching that I have been living and preaching so long. I call it 'Le Milieu Divin,' but I am being careful to include nothing esoteric and the minimum of explicit philosophy.
One often hears of a horse that shivers with terror, or of a dog that howls at something a mans eyes cannot see, and men who live primitive lives where instinct does the work of reason are fully conscious,of many things we cannot perceive at all. As life becomes more orderly, more deliberate, the supernatural world sinks farther away.
"I used to think the world was broken down by tribes," I said. "By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn't true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not."