The only possible paradises are those we have lost.
Marcel Proust
Paradise, Lost Worlds, Nostalgia, Irrecoverable Beauty, Longing Reflection, Memory Ideal
Marcel Proust’s Quotes On Topics
Recall | Lasting Legacy | Proust | Human Experience | Intellectual Cost | Mistakes | Father | Divine Form | Changed Vision | Perishable Mind | Cognitive Bias | Golden Bell | Emotional Damage | Literary Goals | Fashion | Hidden Appreciation | Roles | Common Sense | Controversial Dynamics | Inevitable Mistakes | More
More Marcel Proust Quotes
“Like a swimmer who throws himself into the water in order to learn, but chooses a moment when there are not too many people to see him.” Marcel Proust
Swimmer, Water, Learning Solitude, Public Fear, Risk Timing, Personal Growth
Marcel Proust Swimmer, Water, Learning Solitude, Public Fear, Risk Timing, Personal Growth“We ought at least, from prudence, never to speak of ourselves, because that is a subject on which we may be sure that other people’s views are never in accordance with our own.” Marcel Proust
Prudence, Self-Reflection, Discrepant Views, Social Wisdom, Personal Reserve, Emotional Distance
Marcel Proust Prudence, Self-Reflection, Discrepant Views, Social Wisdom, Personal Reserve, Emotional Distance“For every death is a simplification of existence for the others, removes the necessity to show gratitude, the obligation to pay visits.” Marcel Proust
Death, Existence, Simplification Gratitude, Obligatory Visits, Life Impact, Loss Perspective
Marcel Proust Death, Existence, Simplification Gratitude, Obligatory Visits, Life Impact, Loss Perspective“No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me.” Marcel Proust
Palate, Extraordinary Sensation, Liquid Mix, Emotional Shudder, Physical Response, Transformative Moment
Marcel Proust Palate, Extraordinary Sensation, Liquid Mix, Emotional Shudder, Physical Response, Transformative Moment“It is comforting when one has a sorrow to lie in the warmth of one’s bed and there, abandoning all effort and all resistance, to bury even one’s head under the cover, giving one’s self up to it completely, moaning like branches in the autumn wind. But there is still a better bed, full of divine odors. It is our sweet, our profound, our impenetrable friendship.” Marcel Proust
Sorrow, Bed, Warmth, Friendship, Emotional Comfort, Divine Odors
Marcel Proust Sorrow, Bed, Warmth, Friendship, Emotional Comfort, Divine Odors“We can only be faithful to what we remember, and we remember only what we have known.” Marcel Proust
Faithfulness, Memory, Past Connections, Recall, Loyalty, Personal History
Marcel Proust Faithfulness, Memory, Past Connections, Recall, Loyalty, Personal History“If we press for a definition of what their admirers mean by the epithet, we shall find that it is generally applied to some unusual picture of a familiar object, a picture different from those that we are accustomed to see, unusual and yet true to nature, and for that reason doubly impressive to us because it startles us, makes us emerge from our habits and at the same time brings us back to ourselves by recalling to us an earlier impression.” Marcel Proust
Art, Familiar Objects, True Nature, Startling Beauty, Earlier Impressions, Double Impact
Marcel Proust Art, Familiar Objects, True Nature, Startling Beauty, Earlier Impressions, Double Impact“Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.” Marcel Proust
Imagination, Suffering, Lack, Man, Mental Escape, Emotional Pain
Marcel Proust Imagination, Suffering, Lack, Man, Mental Escape, Emotional Pain“It is always during a passing state of mind that we make lasting resolutions.” Marcel Proust
Passing Mind, Lasting Resolutions, Emotional Decisions, Momentary Reflection, Instinctive Choices, Inner Conflicts
Marcel Proust Passing Mind, Lasting Resolutions, Emotional Decisions, Momentary Reflection, Instinctive Choices, Inner Conflicts“It is often hard to bear the tears that we ourselves have caused.” Marcel Proust
Tears, Hardship, Emotional Pain, Self-Caused Grief, Heartache Burden, Personal Struggles
Marcel Proust Tears, Hardship, Emotional Pain, Self-Caused Grief, Heartache Burden, Personal Struggles“I had come in time to learn that it was a mistake to smile a friendly smile when somebody made a fool of me.” Marcel Proust
Smile, Mistake, Friendly Gesture, Fooling Others, Emotional Guard, Misplaced Trust
Marcel Proust Smile, Mistake, Friendly Gesture, Fooling Others, Emotional Guard, Misplaced Trust“Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge, we make promise only; pain we obey.” Marcel Proust
Illness, Pain, Doctor, Human Response, Knowledge, Obedience
Marcel Proust Illness, Pain, Doctor, Human Response, Knowledge, Obedience“Error, by force of contrast, enhances the triumph of Truth.” Marcel Proust
Error, Truth, Contrast Force, Triumph, Reflection, Learning
Marcel Proust Error, Truth, Contrast Force, Triumph, Reflection, Learning“The duty and the task of a writer are those of an interpreter.” Marcel Proust
Writer, Duty, Interpretation, Artistic Role, Literature, Purpose
Marcel Proust Writer, Duty, Interpretation, Artistic Role, Literature, Purpose“He imagined himself lying there, unable to sleep, thinking of his mother, separated from her by the unresponsive blankets tucked too tightly round him, feeling the ceaseless thumping of his heart in the silence of the night, the irrevocability of absence, the rigid stillness of repose, the agony of solitude and sleeplessness. If the room was a prison, the bed was a tomb.” Marcel Proust
Sleep Agony, Solitude, Emotional Isolation, Night Silence, Grief Presence, Mental Torture
Marcel Proust Sleep Agony, Solitude, Emotional Isolation, Night Silence, Grief Presence, Mental Torture“The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust
Discovery, New Eyes, Fresh Perspectives, Inner Vision, Transformative Journey, Expanded Viewpoint
Marcel Proust Discovery, New Eyes, Fresh Perspectives, Inner Vision, Transformative Journey, Expanded Viewpoint“Memory nourishes the heart, and grief abates.” Marcel Proust
Memory, Heart, Grief, Abates, Emotional Nourishment, Healing Time
Marcel Proust Memory, Heart, Grief, Abates, Emotional Nourishment, Healing Time“There is hardly a single action we perform in that phase which we would not give anything, in later life, to be able to annul. Whereas what we ought to regret is that we no longer possess the spontaneity which made us perform them. In later life we look at things in a more practical way, in full conformity with the rest of society, but adolescence is the only period in which we learn anything.” Marcel Proust
Action, Regret, Adolescence, Lost Spontaneity, Social Conformity, Youthful Lessons
Marcel Proust Action, Regret, Adolescence, Lost Spontaneity, Social Conformity, Youthful Lessons