Switzerland is a country where very few things begin, but many things end.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on Switzerland's neutrality and status as a destination for finality rather than initiation.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's quote about Switzerland highlights the country's unique position in global affairs and culture. It suggests that while not a site of beginnings—such as wars or revolutions—Switzerland is often where matters conclude, representing a place of peace and resolution. This reflects the notion of Switzerland as a haven for those seeking closure or a final destination, both literally and metaphorically.
In practice
During a discussion about Switzerland's role in international diplomacy, this quote can illustrate the country's unique standing.
Don't be so anxious about it,' she laughed. 'I'm not used to being loved. I wouldn't know what to do; I never got the trick of it.' She looked down at him, shy and fatigued. 'So here we are. I told you years ago that I had the makings of Cinderella.' He took her hand; she drew it back instinctively and then replaced it in his. 'Beg your pardon. Not even used to being touched. But I'm not afraid of you, if you stay quiet and don't move suddenly.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
It was about then [1920] that I wrote a line which certain people will not let me forget: "She was a faded but still lovely woman of twenty-seven."
The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby.
But you can love more than just one person, can't you?
A sudden gust of rain blew over them and then another - as if small liquid clouds were bouncing along the land. Lightning entered the sea far off and the air blew full of crackling thunder. The table cloths blew around the pillars. They blew and blew and blew. The flags twisted around the red chairs like live things, the banners were ragged, the corners of the table tore off through the burbling billowing ends of the cloths.
It is a curious feature of our existance that we come from a planet that is very good at promoting life but even better at extinguishing it.
Bigot: One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain.
Our sadness won’t be of the searing kind but more like a blend of joy and melancholy: joy at the perfection we see before us, melancholy at an awareness of how seldom we are sufficiently blessed to encounter anything of its kind. The flawless object throws into perspective the mediocrity that surrounds it. We are reminded of the way we would wish things always to be and of how incomplete our lives remain.
Becoming a vegan is a sure way of completely avoiding participation in the abuse of farmed animals. Vegans are a living demonstration of the fact that we do not need to exploit animals for food.
The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.
I could not understand why men who knew all about good and evil could hate and kill each other.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.