---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He believed that life, true life, was…"
description: "\"He believed that life, true life, was something that was stored in music. True life was kept safe in the lines of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin while you..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/ann-patchett-670_ability_he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-some_2723957.jpg"
---

#  He believed that life, true life, was something that was…

![“He believed that life, true life, was something that was stored in music. True life was kept safe in the lines of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin while you went out in the world and met the obligations required of you. Certainly he knew (though did not completely understand) that opera wasn't for…” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/ann-patchett-670_ability_he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-some_2723957.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/ann-patchett-670_ability_he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-some_2723957.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/ann-patchett-670_ability_he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-some_2723957.jpg)

> “He believed that life, true life, was something that was stored in music. True life was kept safe in the lines of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin while you went out in the world and met the obligations required of you. Certainly he knew (though did not completely understand) that opera wasn't for everyone, but for everyone he hoped there was something. The records he cherished, the rare opportunities to see a live performance, those were the marks by which he gauged his ability to love.”

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The narrator believes that true life is captured in music, especially opera, using it as a measure of love and personal fulfillment despite life's obligations.

**In simple terms:** Music, especially opera, reflects true life and love.

Key Takeaway

Seek depth through artistic experiences.

Themes

music love personal fulfillment

Mood

contemplative nostalgic

Type

artistic philosophical

When to use this quote

- concert attendance
- listening habits
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

aesthetic experience emotional resonance

Questions to Reflect On

- How does music shape your sense of life?
- Can art be a reliable gauge of love?

A Different Perspective

Not everyone finds opera meaningful; taste varies.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Ability to love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-love/) [Believed Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-life-884229/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-kept-1221220/) [Life Stored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-stored-359197/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Live performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-performance/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Mets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mets/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Opera Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera-wasn-2903574/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Rare opportunities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare-opportunities/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tchaikovsky/) [True life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-life/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [“Katsumi Hosokawa - (he) believed that life, true life, was something that was stored in music.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/katsumi-hosokawa-he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-something-that/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [Critics complained it wasn't opera, it wasn't a musical. You give someone something delicious to eat and they complain because they have no name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rouben-mamoulian/critics-complained-it-wasn-t-opera-it-wasn-t-a-musical-you-give/)

[Rouben Mamoulian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rouben-mamoulian/)

> [The cure for all the illness of life is stored in the inner depth of life itself, the access to which becomes possible when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-cure-for-all-the-illness-of-life-is-stored-in-the-inner-depth-of/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [My parents were opera singers. I didn't want to play opera because I wasn't good enough. I didn't want to play their music; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/my-parents-were-opera-singers-i-didn-t-want-to-play-opera-because-i/)

[Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/)

> [THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE CAN NEVER BE KEPT. THEY MUST BE GIVING AWAY… A SMILE.. A HUG... AND YOUR LOVE.. ¥](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-things-in-life-can-never-be-kept-they-must-be-giving-away-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life can only be kept by giving it away. But then it will bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rivers-siddons/life-can-only-be-kept-by-giving-it-away-but-then-it-will-bloom/)

[Anne Rivers Siddons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rivers-siddons/)

> [No, no! The energy of life may be Kept on after the grave, but not begun; And he who flagg'd not in the earthly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/no-no-the-energy-of-life-may-be-kept-on-after-the-grave-but-not-begun/)

[Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/)

> [The Best Things In Life Can Never Be Kept; They Must Be Given A The best things in life can never be kept; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-best-things-in-life-can-never-be-kept-they-must-be-given-a-the/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [“Life kept you busy fighting off troubles, and you looked up, and the best parts of your life were gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-butler/life-kept-you-busy-fighting-off-troubles-and-you-looked-up-and-the/)

[Jack Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-butler/)

> [Life must be kept up at a great rate in order to absorb any considerable amount of learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/life-must-be-kept-up-at-a-great-rate-in-order-to-absorb-any/)

[Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/)

> [Excellent Saying : D Best Things In Life Can Never Be Kept, They Must Be Given Away. A Smile , A Kiss , &amp; Love :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/excellent-saying-d-best-things-in-life-can-never-be-kept-they-must-be/)

[Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/)

> [The best things in life can never be kept; They must be given away. A Smile, a Kiss, and Love .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-best-things-in-life-can-never-be-kept-they-must-be-given-away-a-2/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [The intellectual life may be kept clean and healthful, if man will live the life of nature, and not import into his mind difficulties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-intellectual-life-may-be-kept-clean-and-healthful-if-man-will/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [D best thing in life can never be kept,they must be given away, a smile, a kiss, and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olatunbosun-silifat/d-best-thing-in-life-can-never-be-kept-they-must-be-given-away-a/)

[Olatunbosun Silifat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olatunbosun-silifat/)

> [Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray; Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/far-from-the-madding-crowd-s-ignoble-strife-their-sober-wishes-never/)

[Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/)

## More by Ann Patchett

> [She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-sang-as-if-she-was-saving-the-life-of-every-person-in-the-room/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [If I had problems, I kept them to myself. I didn't make a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-had-problems-i-kept-them-to-myself-i-didn-t-make-a-scene/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-can-t-write-the-book-i-want-to-write-but-i-can-and-will-write-the/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“Without worry to protect me, every thought that came into my mind received real attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/without-worry-to-protect-me-every-thought-that-came-into-my-mind/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“In the future, he will try to say her name enough, but he never can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/in-the-future-he-will-try-to-say-her-name-enough-but-he-never-can/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“He was in love, and never had he felt such kindness towards another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-was-in-love-and-never-had-he-felt-such-kindness-towards-another/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“Gen was sleeping the sleep of the heavily drugged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/gen-was-sleeping-the-sleep-of-the-heavily-drugged/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [If I was a waitress, I was too tired at the end of the day when I came home to try to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-was-a-waitress-i-was-too-tired-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-came/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“She didn't know how to hate her mother yet, but every time she left her father crying in the airport she came that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-didn-t-know-how-to-hate-her-mother-yet-but-every-time-she-left/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“...Nebraska was white, a page as still as fallen snow. It was not crosshatched with roads, overrun with the hard lines of interstate systems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nebraska-was-white-a-page-as-still-as-fallen-snow-it-was-not/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“Clearly he needed a father, but some other father, any other father, would have been preferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/clearly-he-needed-a-father-but-some-other-father-any-other-father/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

> [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/)

[Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

[Explore all 413 Ann Patchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/)

## More Ability quotes

> [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/)

[Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/)

> [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/)

[Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/)

> [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/)

[Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/)

> [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/)

[Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/)

> [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/)

[Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/)

> [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/)

[Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/)

> [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/)

[Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/)

> [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/)

[Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/)

> [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/)

[Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/)

> [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/)

[Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/)

> [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/)

[Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/)

> [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/)

[Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/)

[Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "He believed that life, true life, was something that was stored in music. True life was kept safe in the lines of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin while you went out in the world and met the obligations required of you. Certainly he knew (though did not completely understand) that opera wasn't for everyone, but for everyone he hoped there was something. The records he cherished, the rare opportunities to see a live performance, those were the marks by which he gauged his ability to love.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ann Patchett"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-something-that-was-stored-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ability"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-something-that-was-stored-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/ann-patchett-670_ability_he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-some_2723957.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/ann-patchett-670_ability_he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-some_2723957.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/ann-patchett-670_ability_he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-some_2723957.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He believed that life, true life, was something that was stored in music. True life was kept safe in the…” — Ann Patchett",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ann Patchett",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "He believed that life, true life,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-something-that-was-stored-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-believed-that-life-true-life-was-something-that-was-stored-in/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
