We burned with love for ourselves, all of us, starters of the fire we suffered- our love was the affliction for which only our love was the cure.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
In the water I saw my father's face, and that face saw the face of its father, and so on, and so on, reflecting backward to the beginning of time, to the face of God, in whose image we were created.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the deep connections between generations and the divine, suggesting that we are all reflections of a greater lineage.
In this quote, Jonathan Safran Foer explores the idea of ancestral connection and the continuity of life across generations. The imagery of seeing his father's face in the water symbolizes how each person carries the essence of their predecessors, ultimately linking humanity to a divine source. This cyclical reflection highlights the profound relationship between humanity and its origin, emphasizing that we are all created in the image of God and interconnected through time.
Themes
AncestryConnectionGenerationDivinityReflection
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about family heritage, this quote could illustrate the importance of understanding our roots.
More from Jonathan Safran Foer
All quotes →Memory was supposed to fill the time, but it made time a hole to be filled. Each second was two hundred yards, to be walked, crawled. You couldn't see the next hour, it was so far in the distance. Tomorrow was over the horizon, and would take an entire day to reach.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
She was not crying Which surprised me very much But I understand now That she had found places For her melancholy That were behind more masks Than only her eyes
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
What do babies dream of? She must be dreaming of the before-life, just as I dream of the afterlife.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
A few weeks after the worst day, I started writing lots of letters. I don't know why, but it was one of the only things that made my boots lighter.
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
What is being awake if not interpreting our dreams, or dreaming if not interpreting our wake?
Jonathan Safran FoerRead
Similar quotes
Misery is what happiness rests upon. Happiness is what misery lurks beneath.
LaoziRead
We will be a better country when each religious group can trust its members to obey the dictates of their own religious faith without assistance from the legal structure of the country.
Margaret MeadRead
It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being.
George WashingtonRead
The natural function of the wing is to soar upwards and carry that which is heavy up to the place where dwells the race of gods. More than any other thing that pertains to the body it partakes of the nature of the divine.
PlatoRead
If space is infinite, we may be at any point in space. If time is infinite, we may be at any point in time.
Jorge Luis BorgesRead
He existed a step or two to one side of the common world, largely out of sight, a shadow, all but invisible. Whatever he owned, either he could hoist it on his back and lug it along or he could walk away from it. Anonymity was the thing he loved most about the city, being a part of it and apart from it at the same time.
James SallisRead