--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The line of life is a ragged diagonal…" description: "\"The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and desire.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anonymous-1_desire_the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-be_641671.jpg" --- # The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and… ![“The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and desire.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anonymous-1_desire_the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-be_641671.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anonymous-1_desire_the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-be_641671.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anonymous-1_desire_the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-be_641671.jpg) > “The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and desire.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life's path is a messy balance between obligations and personal wishes. **In simple terms:** We juggle duty and desire in a tangled way. Key Takeaway Seek harmony between responsibility and passion. Themes balance duty desire Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - family responsibilities - personal projects - ethical decisions Key Concepts existentialism life planning Questions to Reflect On - Which duties feel most burdensome? - How can desire be integrated into daily life? A Different Perspective Balancing may require sacrifices on both sides. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Diagonal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diagonal/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“A duty which becomes a desire will ultimately become a delight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gritter/a-duty-which-becomes-a-desire-will-ultimately-become-a-delight/) George Gritter > [ \[The Middle East conflict \] just kind of ran its course for me. For a long time I could justify doing it to myself,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/the-middle-east-conflict-just-kind-of-ran-its-course-for-me-for-a/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [I should have been a pair of ragged claws/ Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-should-have-been-a-pair-of-ragged-claws-scuttling-across-the-floors/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seven and the Ragged Tiger took six months to record and finish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seven-and-the-ragged-tiger-took-six-months-to-record-and-finish/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I review all I know, but can synthesize no meaning. When I doze, the Fact, the certain accomplished calamity, wakes me roughly like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-smart/i-review-all-i-know-but-can-synthesize-no-meaning-when-i-doze-the/) [Elizabeth Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-smart/) > [I hadn't, at the last moment, felt like washing off the two diagonal lines of dried blood that marked my cheeks. They seemed touching,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-hadn-t-at-the-last-moment-felt-like-washing-off-the-two-diagonal/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [He is unworthy of the name of man who is ignorant of the fact that the diagonal of a square is incommensurable with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-is-unworthy-of-the-name-of-man-who-is-ignorant-of-the-fact-that/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [At many levels, Perl is a 'diagonal' language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/at-many-levels-perl-is-a-diagonal-language/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Nothing to do with nature, unless you count human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/nothing-to-do-with-nature-unless-you-count-human-nature/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [There's a graveyard in northern France where all the dead boys from D-Day are buried. The white crosses reach from one horizon to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/there-s-a-graveyard-in-northern-france-where-all-the-dead-boys-from-d/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I lost my balance when the train pulled away, but a human crumple zone buffered my fall. We stayed like that, half fallen. Diagonal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-lost-my-balance-when-the-train-pulled-away-but-a-human-crumple-zone/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [If the simple positions of ballet are demonstrated straight on, they seem quite dull and lifeless, but when put on a diagonal, they begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/if-the-simple-positions-of-ballet-are-demonstrated-straight-on-they/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [My use of evenly repeated dots and diagonal lines and uninflected color areas suggest that my work is right where it is, right on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/my-use-of-evenly-repeated-dots-and-diagonal-lines-and-uninflected/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [The attempt to apply rational arithmetic to a problem in geometry resulted in the first crisis in the history of mathematics. The two relatively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-van-dantzig/the-attempt-to-apply-rational-arithmetic-to-a-problem-in-geometry/) David van Dantzig > [God is in the mountains. Impassive, immovable, jagged giants, separating the celestial from the terrestrial with eternal diagonal certainty. As if silently monitoring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/god-is-in-the-mountains-impassive-immovable-jagged-giants-separating/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and desire.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-between-duty-and-desire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-between-duty-and-desire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anonymous-1_desire_the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-be_641671.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anonymous-1_desire_the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-be_641671.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/deb/anonymous-1_desire_the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-be_641671.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and desire.” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The line of life is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-between-duty-and-desire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-line-of-life-is-a-ragged-diagonal-between-duty-and-desire/#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 } } ] } ```