--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Early one morning words were missing…" description: "\"“Early one morning words were missing. Before that, words were not. Facts were, faces were. In a good story, Aristotle tells us, everything that happen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5a/anne-carson-1985_language_early-one-morning-words-were-missing-bef_1283332.png" --- # Early one morning words were missing. Before that, words… ![“Early one morning words were missing. Before that, words were not. Facts were, faces were. In a good story, Aristotle tells us, everything that happens is pushed by something else. Three old women were bending in the fields. What use is it to question us? they said. Well it shortly became clear…” quote by Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5a/anne-carson-1985_language_early-one-morning-words-were-missing-bef_1283332.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5a/anne-carson-1985_language_early-one-morning-words-were-missing-bef_1283332.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5a/anne-carson-1985_language_early-one-morning-words-were-missing-bef_1283332.png) > ““Early one morning words were missing. Before that, words were not. Facts were, faces were. In a good story, Aristotle tells us, everything that happens is pushed by something else. Three old women were bending in the fields. What use is it to question us? they said. Well it shortly became clear that they knew everything there is to know about the snowy fields and the blue-green shoots and the plant called “audacity,” which poets mistake for violets. I began to copy out everything that was said. The marks construct an instant of nature gradually, without the boredom of a story. I emphasize this. I will do anything to avoid boredom. It is the task of a lifetime. You can never know enough, never work enough, never use the infinitives and participles oddly enough, never impede the movement harshly enough, never leave the mind quickly enough.”” [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on the endless pursuit of knowledge, the avoidance of boredom, and the relentless drive to capture life's details. **In simple terms:** A constant quest for understanding and avoiding monotony. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity and keep creating. Themes knowledge creativity monotony perseverance Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing - academic research - personal reflection - artistic practice Key Concepts existentialism literary experimentation thematic layering Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance curiosity with rest? - What role does boredom play in creativity? A Different Perspective The drive may lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristotle Tells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotle-tells-4029522/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Morning Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning-words-586963/) [Story Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-aristotle-4154218/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-facts-4154219/) ## Related quotes > [We must think things not words, or at least we must constantly translate our words into the facts for which they stand, if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/we-must-think-things-not-words-or-at-least-we-must-constantly/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [“It gives him spiritual freedom. 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Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. 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A world in two words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliann-garey/willa-ellen-a-world-in-two-words/) [Juliann Garey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliann-garey/) > [“A word is not filling in the gaps, but the fertilization of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/a-word-is-not-filling-in-the-gaps-but-the-fertilization-of-silence/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) [TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/) ## More by Anne Carson > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Town of the Dragon Vein If you wake up too early listen for it. 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(To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Early one morning words were missing. Before that, words were not. Facts were, faces were. In a good story, Aristotle tells us, everything that happens is pushed by something else. Three old women were bending in the fields. What use is it to question us? they said. Well it shortly became clear that they knew everything there is to know about the snowy fields and the blue-green shoots and the plant called “audacity,” which poets mistake for violets. I began to copy out everything that was said. The marks construct an instant of nature gradually, without the boredom of a story. I emphasize this. I will do anything to avoid boredom. It is the task of a lifetime. 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