We have done with Hope and Honour. we are lost to Love and Truth, We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung; And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth. God help us, for we knew the worst too young!
There are few things sweeter in this world than the guileless, hotheaded, intemperate, open admiration of a junior. Even a woman in her blindest devotion does not fall into the gait of the man she adores, tilt her bonnet to the angle at which he wears his hat, or interlard her speech with his pet oaths.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the pure and unfiltered admiration that can exist between a junior and a mentor, likening it to a level of devotion that is different from romantic love.
Rudyard Kipling captures the essence of sincere admiration that a junior feels toward a mentor or senior figure. This admiration is characterized by its unpretentiousness and intensity, highlighting how it often surpasses the nuanced affections seen in romantic relationships. The imagery used emphasizes the innocent yet fervent nature of this admiration, suggesting that such feelings are both rare and precious.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
A mentor giving a speech at a graduation ceremony could use this quote to illustrate the value of admiration in a teacher-student relationship.
More from Rudyard Kipling
All quotes →Humble because of knowledge; mighty by sacrifice.
Hear and attend and listen; for this is what befell and be-happened and became and was, O my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild. The dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild -as wild as wild could be - and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself and all places were alike to him
I keep six honest serving men.
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden, You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
Savings represent much more than mere money value. They are the proof that the saver is worth something in himself. Any fool can waste; any fool can muddle; but it takes something more of a man to save and the more he saves the more of a man he makes of himself. Waste and extravagance unsettle a man's mind for every crisis; thrift, which means some form of self-restraint, steadies it.
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Once a woman passes a certain point in intelligence she finds it almost impossible to get a husband: she simply cannot go on listening without snickering.
If you know someone who’s depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn’t a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just is, like the weather. Try to understand the blackness, lethargy, hopelessness, and loneliness they’re going through. Be there for them when they come through the other side. It’s hard to be a friend to someone who’s depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever do.
If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.
They who go Feel not the pain of parting; it is they Who stay behind that suffer.
The white actresses I have known have been allowed to do 10 times more than I shall ever do.