Have you ever noticed,” said Dimble, “that the universe…
““Have you ever noticed,” said Dimble, “that the universe, and every bit of the universe is always hardening and narrowing and coming to a point?” His wife waited as those wait who know by long experience the mental processes of the person who is talking to them. “I mean this,” said Dimble in answer to the question she had not asked. “If you dip into any college, or school, or parish, or family – anything you like – at a given point in its history, you always find that there was a time before that point when there was more elbow room and contrasts weren’t quite so sharp; and that there’s going to be a time after that point when there is even less room for indecision and choices are even more momentous. Good is always getting better and bad is always getting worse: the possibilities of even apparent neutrality are always diminishing. The whole thing is sorting itself out all the time, coming to a point, getting sharper and harder.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
History narrows choices, making decisions increasingly consequential and less flexible.
In simple terms: Choices become sharper over time.
Key Takeaway
Act decisively before options shrink.
Themes
history
choice
certainty
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
philosophical
analytical
When to use this quote
- career planning
- policy making
- personal relationships
Key Concepts
determinism
progress
complexity
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we keep flexibility in a narrowing world?
- What strategies preserve “elbow room”?
A Different Perspective
May underestimate chance for change.