QuoteProject
That's the duty of the old, to be anxious on behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old.
Philip Pullman
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The older generation cares for the younger generation, while the youth often dismiss this concern.

In this quote, Philip Pullman expresses the dynamic relationship between the older and younger generations. He suggests that it is the responsibility of older individuals to worry about the future of the young, reflecting their care and concern, while also acknowledging that the young often respond with dismissiveness or scorn towards this anxiety, indicating a natural generational gap in understanding and perspectives on life.

Themes

AnxietyYouthDutyGenerationsRelationships

In practice

Example use cases

During a family gathering, you could share this quote to spark a discussion about generational differences.

More from Philip Pullman

The function of a book or a poem or a story is to delight, to enchant, to beguile.
Philip PullmanRead
Education and health were always matters of charity. You educated children and you helped the sick because they were good things to do, not because you were going to make money out of them. If you let the money-making principle, the profit-seeking motive, anywhere near education and health, things go bad.
Philip PullmanRead
To get the best out of life here ...Good grief. There's plenty of it about, so indulge. Give yourself some thing to remember. Fall in love. Fall out of love. Gamble. Get drunk. See how long you can stay awake. Go for long walks at night. Discover what you're afraid of doing, and then do it.
Philip PullmanRead
People should decide on the books' meanings for themselves. They'll find a story that attacks such things as cruelty, oppression, intolerance, unkindness, narrow-mindedness, and celebrates love, kindness, open-mindedness, tolerance, curiosity, human intelligence.
Philip PullmanRead
I told him I was going to betray you, and betray Lyra, and he believed me because I was corrupt and full of wickedness; he looked so deep I felt sure he'd see the truth. But I lied too well. I was lying with every nerve and fiber and everything I'd ever done...I wanted him to find no good in me, and he didn't. There is none.
Philip PullmanRead
Lyra learns to her great cost that fantasy isn’t enough. She has been lying all her life, telling stories to people, making up fantasies, and suddenly she comes to a point where that’s not enough. All she can do is tell the truth. She tells the truth about her childhood, about the experiences she had in Oxford, and that is what saves her. True experience, not fantasy - reality, not lies - is what saves us in the end.
Philip PullmanRead

Similar quotes

People with clenched fists can not shake hands.
Indira GandhiRead
Enemy images are the main reason conflicts don't get resolved.
Marshall B. RosenbergRead
Stand not too near the rich man lest he destroy thee - and not too far away lest he forget thee.
Aneurin BevanRead
I've got to stop getting obsessed with human beings and fall in love with a chair. Chairs have everything human beings have to offer, and less, which is obviously what I need. Less emotional feedback, less warmth, less approval, less patience and less response. The less the merrier. Chairs it is. I must furnish my heart with feelings for furniture.
Carrie FisherRead
My people are still poor. They're still working class. All of the characters that I write about are inspired by the community that I'm from.
Jesmyn WardRead
Not that we were incompatible: we just had nothing to talk about.
Haruki MurakamiRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.