--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As in an icicle the agnostic abides…" description: "\"As in an icicle the agnostic abides alone. The vital principle is taken out of all endeavor for improving himself or bettering hisfellows. All hope in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/anna-julia-cooper-14164_agnostic_as-in-an-icicle-the-agnostic-abides-alon_2380391.png" --- # As in an icicle the agnostic abides alone. The vital… ![“As in an icicle the agnostic abides alone. The vital principle is taken out of all endeavor for improving himself or bettering hisfellows. All hope in the grand possibilities of life are blasted.” quote by Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/anna-julia-cooper-14164_agnostic_as-in-an-icicle-the-agnostic-abides-alon_2380391.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/anna-julia-cooper-14164_agnostic_as-in-an-icicle-the-agnostic-abides-alon_2380391.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/anna-julia-cooper-14164_agnostic_as-in-an-icicle-the-agnostic-abides-alon_2380391.png) > “As in an icicle the agnostic abides alone. The vital principle is taken out of all endeavor for improving himself or bettering hisfellows. All hope in the grand possibilities of life are blasted.” [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True independence comes from self‑improvement and rejecting reliance on others. **In simple terms:** Self‑growth is essential. Key Takeaway Focus on personal development. Themes independence self‑reliance philosophy Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal setbacks - career advancement - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism humanism autonomy Questions to Reflect On - What does self‑reliance mean to you? - How can you balance independence with collaboration? A Different Perspective May ignore community support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abides Vital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abides-vital-5893569/) [Agnostic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) [Agnostic Abides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic-abides-5893568/) [Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Endeavor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endeavor/) [Icicle Agnostic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icicle-agnostic-5893567/) [Icicles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icicles/) [Improving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improving/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Vital Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vital-principle-612083/) ## Related quotes > [Truth contains a vital principle and will manifest itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-haanel/truth-contains-a-vital-principle-and-will-manifest-itself/) [Charles F. Haanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-haanel/) > [A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-sacred-respect-for-the-constitutional-law-is-the-vital-principle/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Money is, with propriety, considered as the vital principle of the body politic; as that which sustains its life and motion, and enables it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/money-is-with-propriety-considered-as-the-vital-principle-of-the-body/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Health is the vital principle of bliss, and exercise, of health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thomson/health-is-the-vital-principle-of-bliss-and-exercise-of-health/) [James Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thomson/) > [Metaphysical ghosts cannot be killed, because they cannot be touched; but they may be dispelled by dispelling the twilight in which shadows and solidities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/metaphysical-ghosts-cannot-be-killed-because-they-cannot-be-touched/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Force is the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/force-is-the-vital-principle-and-immediate-parent-of-despotism/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Agnosticism has nothing to impart. Its sermons are the exhortations of one who convinces you he stands on nothing and urges you to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/agnosticism-has-nothing-to-impart-its-sermons-are-the-exhortations-of/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [I am volatile for one, rigid for another, angular as an icicle in silver, or voluptuous as a candle flame in gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-am-volatile-for-one-rigid-for-another-angular-as-an-icicle-in/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“I created an icicle sculpture in the snow. White on white.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/i-created-an-icicle-sculpture-in-the-snow-white-on-white/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [Where, twisted round the barren oak, The summer vine in beauty clung, And summer winds the stillness broke, The crystal icicle is hung.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/where-twisted-round-the-barren-oak-the-summer-vine-in-beauty-clung/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [The snow has left the cottage top; The thatch moss grows in brighter green; And eaves in quick succession drop, Where grinning icicles have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clare/the-snow-has-left-the-cottage-top-the-thatch-moss-grows-in-brighter/) [John Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clare/) > [Life is like invading Russia. A blitz start, massed shakos, plumes dancing like a flustered henhouse; a period of svelte progress recorded in ebullient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/life-is-like-invading-russia-a-blitz-start-massed-shakos-plumes/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You've been cold to me so long, I'm crying icicles instead of tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meat-loaf/you-ve-been-cold-to-me-so-long-i-m-crying-icicles-instead-of-tears/) [Meat Loaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meat-loaf/) > [“Poetry flows from our hearts. It is like that mass of snow we call a glacier and when it starts its slow movement, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balroop-singh/poetry-flows-from-our-hearts-it-is-like-that-mass-of-snow-we-call-a/) [Balroop Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balroop-singh/) > [“Just when normal life felt almost possible--when the world held some kind of order, meaning, even loveliness (prismatic spray of light through an icicle;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wroblewski/just-when-normal-life-felt-almost-possible-when-the-world-held-some/) [David Wroblewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wroblewski/) ## More by Anna Julia Cooper > [... the majority of colored men do not yet think it worth while that women aspire to higher education… The three R's, a littlemusic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/the-majority-of-colored-men-do-not-yet-think-it-worth-while-that/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [One needs occasionally to stand aside from the hum and rush of human interests and passions to hear the voices of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/one-needs-occasionally-to-stand-aside-from-the-hum-and-rush-of-human/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [ Teach \[our girls\] that there is a race with special needs which they and only they can help; that the world needs and is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/teach-our-girls-that-there-is-a-race-with-special-needs-which-they/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [Life must be something more than dilettante speculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/life-must-be-something-more-than-dilettante-speculation/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [... religion (ought to be if it isn't) a great deal more than mere gratification of the instinct for worship linked with the straight-teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/religion-ought-to-be-if-it-isn-t-a-great-deal-more-than-mere/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [A race cannot be purified from without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/a-race-cannot-be-purified-from-without/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [Respect for woman, the much lauded chivalry of the Middle Ages, meant what I fear it still means to some men in our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/respect-for-woman-the-much-lauded-chivalry-of-the-middle-ages-meant/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [Peace produced by suppression is neither natural nor desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/peace-produced-by-suppression-is-neither-natural-nor-desirable/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [... woman's cause is the cause of the weak; and when all the weak shall have received their due consideration, then woman will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/woman-s-cause-is-the-cause-of-the-weak-and-when-all-the-weak-shall/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [ ... \[a\] girl one day flared out and told the principal "the only mission opening before a girl in his school was to marry… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/a-girl-one-day-flared-out-and-told-the-principal-the-only-mission/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [All prejudices, whether of race, sect or sex, class pride and caste distinctions are the belittling inheritance and badge of snobs and prigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/all-prejudices-whether-of-race-sect-or-sex-class-pride-and-caste/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [The old, subjective, stagnant, indolent and wretched life for woman has gone. She has as many resources as men, as many activities beckon her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/the-old-subjective-stagnant-indolent-and-wretched-life-for-woman-has/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [Each is under the most sacred obligation not to squander the material committed to him, not to sap his strength in folly and vice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/each-is-under-the-most-sacred-obligation-not-to-squander-the-material/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [Bullies are always cowards at heart and may be credited with a pretty safe instinct in scenting their prey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/bullies-are-always-cowards-at-heart-and-may-be-credited-with-a-pretty/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [tis woman's strongest vindication for speaking that the world needs to hear her voice. It would be subversive of every human interest that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/tis-woman-s-strongest-vindication-for-speaking-that-the-world-needs/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) [Explore all 47 Anna Julia Cooper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) ## More Agnostic quotes > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [I'm actually, for the most part, a complete agnostic politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/i-m-actually-for-the-most-part-a-complete-agnostic-politically/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Even when I was saying I was Agnostic and trying to figure out my thoughts, I felt God was allowing me to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfre-woodard/even-when-i-was-saying-i-was-agnostic-and-trying-to-figure-out-my/) [Alfre Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfre-woodard/) > [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [If a humanist or an atheist or an agnostic says, "We'll bake you a pie," we can go right into the kitchen and bake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/if-a-humanist-or-an-atheist-or-an-agnostic-says-we-ll-bake-you-a-pie/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All Gaza's temples are torn down and burned and the city is cleansed of every belief but the Christian faith. The most stubborn opponents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsay-macmullen/all-gaza-s-temples-are-torn-down-and-burned-and-the-city-is-cleansed/) [Ramsay MacMullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsay-macmullen/) > [I'm still agnostic. But in the words of Elton Richards, I'm now a reverant agnostic. Which isn't an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-still-agnostic-but-in-the-words-of-elton-richards-i-m-now-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm agnostic. By definition, I'm unsure of what to believe in, but I'm also borderline-capable of believing in anything and everything, or nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lola/i-m-agnostic-by-definition-i-m-unsure-of-what-to-believe-in-but-i-m/) [Lauren Lola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lola/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) [Browse all 492 Agnostic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As in an icicle the agnostic abides alone. The vital principle is taken out of all endeavor for improving himself or bettering hisfellows. 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