Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
Only people who have been allowed to practise freedom can have the grown-up look in their eyes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True maturity and understanding of life come from experiencing freedom.
E. M. Forster's quote suggests that the experiences of freedom are crucial for personal growth and maturity. Those who have not experienced this freedom may lack the depth and understanding that comes with it, which is often reflected in their demeanor and perspective on life.
Themes
FreedomMaturityGrowthExperienceUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about personal development during a leadership seminar.
More from E. M. Forster
All quotes →A poem is true if it hangs together. Information points to something else. A poem points to nothing but itself.
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One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life.
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Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.
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The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance.
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One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
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