--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For some reason, the sight of snow…" description: "\"“For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire always makes me think of the ancient world—legionaries in sheepskin warming themselves at a braz..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/anthony-powell-2659_life_for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descen_1667646.jpg" --- # For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire… ![“For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire always makes me think of the ancient world—legionaries in sheepskin warming themselves at a brazier: mountain altars where offerings glow between wintry pillars; centaurs with torches cantering beside a frozen sea—scattered, uncoordinated…” quote by Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/anthony-powell-2659_life_for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descen_1667646.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/anthony-powell-2659_life_for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descen_1667646.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/anthony-powell-2659_life_for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descen_1667646.jpg) > ““For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire always makes me think of the ancient world—legionaries in sheepskin warming themselves at a brazier: mountain altars where offerings glow between wintry pillars; centaurs with torches cantering beside a frozen sea—scattered, uncoordinated shapes from a fabulous past, infinitely removed from life; and yet bringing with them memories of things real and imagined. These”” [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The image of snow on fire evokes ancient, mythic scenes, blending reality and imagination, highlighting how striking contrasts stir deep, timeless memories. **In simple terms:** Contrasting images trigger ancient, mythic memories. Key Takeaway Embrace vivid contrasts to spark imagination. Themes memory myth contrast imagination history Mood reflective evocative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - Creative writing - artistic inspiration - historical reflection - visual design - storytelling Key Concepts Symbolism visual metaphor nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What personal memories does a striking visual contrast evoke? - How can such imagery deepen your creative work? A Different Perspective The metaphor may be too abstract for some readers, limiting immediate connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagined/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mountain Altars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain-altars-824862/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) [Think Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-ancient-327544/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wintry Pillars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wintry-pillars-824863/) ## Related quotes > [“For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire always makes me think of the ancient world – legionaries in sheepskin warming themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descending-on-fire-always-makes-me-2/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [I think ancient cultures incorporated death into the experience of life in a more natural way than we have done. In our obsessive focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/i-think-ancient-cultures-incorporated-death-into-the-experience-of/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Some people think that I must be ancient because I've been in the business for so long, others still think of me as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-tushingham/some-people-think-that-i-must-be-ancient-because-i-ve-been-in-the/) [Rita Tushingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-tushingham/) > ['The Sound of Things Falling' may be a page turner, but it's also a deep meditation on fate and death. Even in translation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-sound-of-things-falling-may-be-a-page-turner-but-it-s-also-a-deep/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [“He had been violently confused by her real presence in the opposite inaccessible corner. For months he had been possessed by the imagination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/he-had-been-violently-confused-by-her-real-presence-in-the-opposite/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I never imagined myself as an actor who would be in films. I always only thought of myself being in a play or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/i-never-imagined-myself-as-an-actor-who-would-be-in-films-i-always/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [“We were feeling something they never had—a physical link into the world of the fictional—through the skeletal muscles of the arm to the joystick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-grossman/we-were-feeling-something-they-never-had-a-physical-link-into-the/) [Austin Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-grossman/) > [So basketball has always taken me places that I could have never imagined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaylen-brown/so-basketball-has-always-taken-me-places-that-i-could-have-never/) [Jaylen Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaylen-brown/) > [Live life the way you have imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-saquan-wren-iii/live-life-the-way-you-have-imagined/) [Mike Saquan Wren III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-saquan-wren-iii/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) > [“Books never cease to astonish me. When I was a child, I knew--in the incontestable way that children know things--that God was an author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-cooley/books-never-cease-to-astonish-me-when-i-was-a-child-i-knew-in-the/) [Martha Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-cooley/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) ## More by Anthony Powell > [I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-was-impressed-for-the-ten-thousandth-time-by-the-fact-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Like everything that's any good, it has about twenty different meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/like-everything-that-s-any-good-it-has-about-twenty-different-meanings/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I have absolutely no histrionic talent, none at all, a constitutional handicap in almost all undertakings of life;but then, after all, plenty of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-have-absolutely-no-histrionic-talent-none-at-all-a-constitutional/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“The crematorium was a blaze of sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-crematorium-was-a-blaze-of-sunshine/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't fulfil the promise of their early years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/parents-are-sometimes-a-bit-of-a-disappointment-to-their-children/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Her expression was oafish, but it was on the whole this quality that gave her face a certain retentive efficacy. She had the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/her-expression-was-oafish-but-it-was-on-the-whole-this-quality-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Enormous simplifications were possibly necessary to carry a deeper truth than lay on the surface of a mass of unsorted detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/enormous-simplifications-were-possibly-necessary-to-carry-a-deeper/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I hate anything superficial. But I will take the book and look at it, and tell you what I think of the writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-hate-anything-superficial-but-i-will-take-the-book-and-look-at-it/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“It is rather an occasion, darling,’ said Moreland, vexed at these objections. ‘After all, I am noted among composers for the smallness of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/it-is-rather-an-occasion-darling-said-moreland-vexed-at-these/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Dinner at the Huntercombes possessed only two dramatic features: the wine was a farce and the food a tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/dinner-at-the-huntercombes-possessed-only-two-dramatic-features-the/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Even then I did not recognise the quest for power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/even-then-i-did-not-recognise-the-quest-for-power/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Some of the best of us are quite unambitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/some-of-the-best-of-us-are-quite-unambitious/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/one-passes-through-the-world-knowing-few-if-any-of-the-important/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“He stood pondering this flat, forthright declaration of anti-simianism on Miss Weedon’s part. The notion that some people might not like monkeys was evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-stood-pondering-this-flat-forthright-declaration-of-anti-simianism/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) [Explore all 156 Anthony Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More Imagined quotes > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [“Books never cease to astonish me. When I was a child, I knew--in the incontestable way that children know things--that God was an author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-cooley/books-never-cease-to-astonish-me-when-i-was-a-child-i-knew-in-the/) [Martha Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-cooley/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Live life the way you have imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-saquan-wren-iii/live-life-the-way-you-have-imagined/) [Mike Saquan Wren III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-saquan-wren-iii/) > [So basketball has always taken me places that I could have never imagined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaylen-brown/so-basketball-has-always-taken-me-places-that-i-could-have-never/) [Jaylen Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaylen-brown/) > [“We were feeling something they never had—a physical link into the world of the fictional—through the skeletal muscles of the arm to the joystick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-grossman/we-were-feeling-something-they-never-had-a-physical-link-into-the/) [Austin Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-grossman/) > [I never imagined myself as an actor who would be in films. I always only thought of myself being in a play or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/i-never-imagined-myself-as-an-actor-who-would-be-in-films-i-always/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [“He had been violently confused by her real presence in the opposite inaccessible corner. For months he had been possessed by the imagination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/he-had-been-violently-confused-by-her-real-presence-in-the-opposite/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > ['The Sound of Things Falling' may be a page turner, but it's also a deep meditation on fate and death. Even in translation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-sound-of-things-falling-may-be-a-page-turner-but-it-s-also-a-deep/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [There is, to be sure, sometimes only a small difference between being alert to possible danger and allowing oneself to become terrified to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/there-is-to-be-sure-sometimes-only-a-small-difference-between-being/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [Color must be thought, imagined, dreamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-moreau/color-must-be-thought-imagined-dreamed/) [Gustave Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-moreau/) > [I still have a photo on my wall of the greatest idol I will ever have in my life, and it's myself at eight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-still-have-a-photo-on-my-wall-of-the-greatest-idol-i-will-ever-have/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [I'm of the opinion that the real is imagined and the imagined is quite real. The real is imagined, in the sense that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-of-the-opinion-that-the-real-is-imagined-and-the-imagined-is/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) [Browse all 580 Imagined quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagined/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire always makes me think of the ancient world—legionaries in sheepskin warming themselves at a brazier: mountain altars where offerings glow between wintry pillars; centaurs with torches cantering beside a frozen sea—scattered, uncoordinated shapes from a fabulous past, infinitely removed from life; and yet bringing with them memories of things real and imagined. These”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Powell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descending-on-fire-always-makes-me/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagined" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descending-on-fire-always-makes-me/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/anthony-powell-2659_life_for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descen_1667646.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/anthony-powell-2659_life_for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descen_1667646.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e5/anthony-powell-2659_life_for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descen_1667646.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire always makes me think of the ancient world—legionaries…” — Anthony Powell", "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": "Anthony Powell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For some reason, the sight of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descending-on-fire-always-makes-me/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/for-some-reason-the-sight-of-snow-descending-on-fire-always-makes-me/#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 } } ] } ```