I find more and more that I am a man of the 1920s. I still expect something exciting. Drinks, animated conversation, gaiety: the uninhibited exchange of ideas.
Edmund WilsonRead
If I could only remember that the days were not bricks to be laid row on row, to be built into a solid house, where one might dwell in safety and peace, but only food for the fires of the heart.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is not about accumulating days like bricks for a solid structure, but rather about experiencing each moment passionately.
Edmund Wilson's quote reflects on the transient nature of life, suggesting that days should not be treated merely as time blocks stacked together, but as meaningful experiences that fuel our emotions and passions. He contrasts the idea of building a secure, orderly existence with the notion of living fully and embrace the ephemeral beauty of each moment.
Themes
LifeExperiencePassionMomentsPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about appreciating life's fleeting moments, use this quote to emphasize the importance of living passionately.
More from Edmund Wilson
All quotes →No two persons ever read the same book.
Edmund WilsonRead
Similar quotes
Perhaps our greatest distinction as a species is our capacity, unique among animals, to make counter-evolutionary choices.
Jared DiamondRead
I don't think the world will destroy itself in a nuclear cataclysm. On the contrary, we have the capacity to save ourselves and save the planet, and we will use it.
Isabel AllendeRead
One can acquire everything in solitude except character.
StendhalRead
We all have appointments with the past.
W. G. SebaldRead
They who prematurely put themselves forward to root out whatever is displeasing to them overthrow the judgment of God and rashly intrude upon the office of angels.
John CalvinRead
We're all water from different rivers, That's why it's so easy to meet, We're all water in this vast, vast ocean, Someday we'll evaporate together.
Yoko OnoRead