What is important is the moment of opening a life and feeling it touch--with an electric hiss and cry--this speckled mineral sphere, our present world.
Annie DillardRead
As soon as beauty is sought not from religion and love, but for pleasure, it degrades the seeker.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The pursuit of beauty for mere enjoyment, rather than for deeper purposes like religion or love, diminishes one's character.
Annie Dillard's quote suggests that when individuals seek beauty solely for their own pleasure, rather than for meaningful connections to religion or love, it can lead to a degradation of their personal values and sense of self. This perspective emphasizes the importance of intentions behind our pursuits, proposing that true beauty is intertwined with deeper emotional and spiritual dimensions rather than superficial enjoyment.
Themes
BeautyPleasureReligionLoveDegradation
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the purpose of art, this quote can highlight the difference between appreciating art for its aesthetic vs. its emotional depth.
More from Annie Dillard
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Annie DillardRead
Buddhism notes that it is always a mistake to think your soul can go it alone.
Annie DillardRead
Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.
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It is difficult to undo our own damage, and to recall to our presence that which we have asked to leave. It is hard to desecrate a grove and change your mind. The very holy mountains are keeping mum. We doused the burning bush and cannot rekindle it; we are lighting matches in vain under every green tree.
Annie DillardRead
To crank myself up I stood on a jack and ran myself up. I tightened myself like a bolt. I inserted myself in a vise-clamp and wound the handle till the pressure built. I drank coffee in titrated doses. It was a tricky business, requiring the finely tuned judgment of a skilled anesthesiologist. There was a tiny range within which coffee was effective, short of which it was useless, and beyond which, fatal.
Annie DillardRead
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