The lark that shuns on lofty boughs to build, Her humble nest, lies silent in the field.
Edmund WallerRead
The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd, Lets in new light through chinks that Time has made. Stronger by weakness, wiser men become As they draw near to their eternal home: Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view That stand upon the threshold of the new.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the transformative power of aging and experience, suggesting that understanding and wisdom often come with time and vulnerability.
Edmund Waller's quote speaks to the idea that as we age and face the decay of our physical and mental faculties, we simultaneously gain wisdom and insight. The 'dark cottage' symbolizes the body, which, though weakened by time, allows for new perspectives and comprehension of life and death. The notion of standing at the threshold of the new implies a readiness to embrace change and transition, indicating that those who have faced challenges often possess the greatest understanding as they move toward their ultimate fate.
Themes
AgingWisdomTransformationLifeExperience
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker at a retirement party might use this quote to reflect on the experiences gained over the years.
More from Edmund Waller
All quotes →Could we forbear dispute, and practise love,_x000D_ _x000D_ We should agree as angels do above.
Edmund WallerRead
All human things Of dearest value hang on slender strings.
Edmund WallerRead
The chain that's fixed to the throne of Jove, On which the fabric of our world depends, One link dissolved, the whole creation ends.
Edmund WallerRead
Music so softens and disarms the mind That not an arrow does resistance find.
Edmund WallerRead
Vexed sailors cursed the rain, for which poor shepherds prayed in vain.
Edmund WallerRead
Similar quotes
Isn't it time that these most ancient sorrows of ours grew fruitful? Time that we tenderly loosed ourselves from the loved one, and, unsteadily, survived: the way the arrow, suddenly all vector, survives the string to be more than itself. For abiding is nowhere.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
Far from being the basis of the good society, the family, with its narrow privacy and tawdry secrets, is the source of all our discontents.
Edmund LeachRead
In conlusion, there is no conclusion. Things will go on as they always have, getting weirder all the time.
Robert Anton WilsonRead
Poverty is not a lack of character. Poverty is a lack of cash.
Rutger BregmanRead
Fool that I was, upon my eagle's wings I bore this wren, till I was tired with soaring, and now he mounts above me.
John DrydenRead
So what is the difference between someone who willfully indulges in sexual pleasures while ignoring the Bible on moral purity and someone who willfully indulges in the selfish pursuit of more and more material possessions while ignoring the Bible on caring for the poor? The difference is that one involves a social taboo in the church and the other involves the social norm in the church.
David PlattRead