When a grown man reaches forty, we change him for an old one. He has completely disappeared. There's only the most superficial resemblance between the two of them. Nothing is handed on from one to the other.
Jean GiraudouxRead
There are no elements so diverse that they cannot be joined in the heart of a man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that even the most different and contrasting elements can find unity within a person's emotions and heart.
Jean Giraudoux's quote reflects on the human capacity for emotional connection and understanding. It implies that regardless of the diversity and differences one encounters in life—be it in ideas, cultures, or personal experiences—these elements can coexist and be harmonized within an individual's heart. This speaks to the essence of empathy, love, and acceptance that defines the human experience, suggesting that through compassion and emotional openness, one can embrace a wide range of perspectives and feelings.
Themes
DiversityUnityEmotionConnectionUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about empathy and understanding in a multicultural society.
More from Jean Giraudoux
All quotes →A stock certificate is not a tool, like a shovel, or a commodity, like a pound of cheese. What we sell a customer is not a share in a business, but a view of the Elysian Fields. A financier is a creative artist. Our function is to stimulate the imagination. We are poets!
Jean GiraudouxRead
Everyone, when there's war in the air, learns to live in a new element: falsehood.
Jean GiraudouxRead
It's odd how people waiting for you stand out far less clearly than people you are waiting for.
Jean GiraudouxRead
It would be better if only the old men fought the wars. Every country is the country of youth. When its youth dies, it dies with them.
Jean GiraudouxRead
A man has only one way of being immortal on earth: he has to forget he is a mortal.
Jean GiraudouxRead
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