--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we speak the word 'life,' it must be…" description: "\"When we speak the word 'life,' it must be understood we are not referring to life as we know it from its surface of fact, but to that fragile, fluctuat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/antonin-artaud-3802_fragile_when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-u_1241978.png" --- # When we speak the word 'life,' it must be understood we… ![“When we speak the word 'life,' it must be understood we are not referring to life as we know it from its surface of fact, but to that fragile, fluctuating center which forms never reach.” quote by Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/antonin-artaud-3802_fragile_when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-u_1241978.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/antonin-artaud-3802_fragile_when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-u_1241978.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/antonin-artaud-3802_fragile_when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-u_1241978.png) > “When we speak the word 'life,' it must be understood we are not referring to life as we know it from its surface of fact, but to that fragile, fluctuating center which forms never reach.” [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that “life” is an elusive, ever‑changing core beyond observable facts, urging deeper perception. **In simple terms:** Life is a fragile, shifting inner core. Key Takeaway Seek deeper understanding beyond appearances. Themes philosophy existence perception subjectivity psychology Mood introspective enigmatic Type theatrical philosophical When to use this quote - Therapeutic practice - artistic creation - mindfulness meditation - critical analysis Key Concepts ontological inquiry phenomenology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance inner insight with external reality? - What practices help access this fragile core? A Different Perspective Focusing on the unseen can lead to ambiguity and paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fragile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragile/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [We are told that the trouble with modern man is that he has been trying to detach himself from nature... In this scenario, Man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-told-that-the-trouble-with-modern-man-is-that-he-has-been/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“For the first time in my life I understood the true purpose of this sort of formal greeting. 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But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/it-is-perfectly-true-as-philosophers-say-that-life-must-be-understood/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Life can only be understood backwards but you have to live it forward. You can only do that by stepping into uncertainty and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-handy/life-can-only-be-understood-backwards-but-you-have-to-live-it-forward/) [Charles Handy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-handy/) > [After I started to understand the spiritual dimension of life, I understood the responsibilities you have as a husband, a father, a friend and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/after-i-started-to-understand-the-spiritual-dimension-of-life-i/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) ## More by Antonin Artaud > [With society and its public, there is no longer any other language than that of bombs, barricades, and all that follows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/with-society-and-its-public-there-is-no-longer-any-other-language/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [I cannot conceive any work of art as having a separate existence from life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/i-cannot-conceive-any-work-of-art-as-having-a-separate-existence-from/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [“This is why a tainted society has invented psychiatry to defend itself against the investigations of certain superior intellects whose faculties of divination would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/this-is-why-a-tainted-society-has-invented-psychiatry-to-defend/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [“I myself spent nine years in an insane asylum and I never had the obsession of suicide, but I know that each conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/i-myself-spent-nine-years-in-an-insane-asylum-and-i-never-had-the/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [“Insane asylums are deliberate and premeditated receptacles of black magic, and it is not only that doctors encourage magic with their untimely and hybrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/insane-asylums-are-deliberate-and-premeditated-receptacles-of-black/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [How hard is it, when everything encourages us to sleep, though we may look about us with conscious, clinging eyes, to wake and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/how-hard-is-it-when-everything-encourages-us-to-sleep-though-we-may/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [This is why true beauty never strikes us directly. The setting sun is beautiful because of all it makes us lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/this-is-why-true-beauty-never-strikes-us-directly-the-setting-sun-is/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [And what is an authentic madman? It is a man who preferred to become mad, in the socially accepted sense of the word, rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/and-what-is-an-authentic-madman-it-is-a-man-who-preferred-to-become/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [The truth of life lies in the impulsiveness of matter. The mind of man has been poisoned by concepts. Do not ask him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/the-truth-of-life-lies-in-the-impulsiveness-of-matter-the-mind-of-man/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [All writing is garbage. People who come out of nowhere to try and put into words any part of what goes on in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/all-writing-is-garbage-people-who-come-out-of-nowhere-to-try-and-put/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [Squander your riches far from this unfeeling body to which no season, either spiritual or sensual, makes any difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/squander-your-riches-far-from-this-unfeeling-body-to-which-no-season/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [The race of prophets is extinct. Europe is becoming set in its ways, slowly embalming itself beneath the wrappings of its borders, its factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/the-race-of-prophets-is-extinct-europe-is-becoming-set-in-its-ways/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [When I think about myself, my thought seeks itself in the ether of a new space. I am on the moon as others are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/when-i-think-about-myself-my-thought-seeks-itself-in-the-ether-of-a/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [It is almost impossible to be a doctor and an honest man, but it is obscenely impossible to be a psychiatrist without at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/it-is-almost-impossible-to-be-a-doctor-and-an-honest-man-but-it-is/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [Without sarcasm I sink into chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/without-sarcasm-i-sink-into-chaos/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) [Explore all 114 Antonin Artaud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) ## More Fragile quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mortals are such fragile things. Just tender feelings walking around exposed in their delicate shells...Easy to crush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/mortals-are-such-fragile-things-just-tender-feelings-walking-around/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/when-you-see-how-fragile-and-delicate-life-can-be-all-else-fades-into/) [Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/) > [The foundations of our lives are far more fragile than we think. So we are severely shaken when life turns out to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-bier/the-foundations-of-our-lives-are-far-more-fragile-than-we-think-so-we/) [Susanne Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-bier/) > [I hope the day will come when a wasp-waist and a pair of thin shoulders will not be esteemed beauty: we have had our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-mcnair-wright/i-hope-the-day-will-come-when-a-wasp-waist-and-a-pair-of-thin/) [Julia McNair Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-mcnair-wright/) > [“Hearts were beautifully fierce yet fragile things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/hearts-were-beautifully-fierce-yet-fragile-things/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [True, the fragile bodies of his fellows do not weigh down his plane; true, the fretful minds of weaker men are missing from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/true-the-fragile-bodies-of-his-fellows-do-not-weigh-down-his-plane/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Over and over, we hear politicians say they can't spend our tax dollars on environmental protection when the economy is so fragile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/over-and-over-we-hear-politicians-say-they-can-t-spend-our-tax/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [There are plenty of people who don't want change - the Labour Party, some of their militant trade union friends like Unite busy causing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-osborne/there-are-plenty-of-people-who-don-t-want-change-the-labour-party/) [George Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-osborne/) > [Life is fragile, like the dew hanging delicately on the grass, crystal drops that will be carried away on the first morning breeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/life-is-fragile-like-the-dew-hanging-delicately-on-the-grass-crystal/) [Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dilgo-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [A fragile painting left without a scenery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-fragile-painting-left-without-a-scenery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is fragile. Break it and you will find great difficulties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-fragile-break-it-and-you-will-find-great-difficulties/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't use a hairdryer when it's not necessary; I try to look after my fragile hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-pivovarova/i-don-t-use-a-hairdryer-when-it-s-not-necessary-i-try-to-look-after/) [Sasha Pivovarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-pivovarova/) > [There is cruelty in divorce. There is cruelty in forced or unfortunate marriage. We will continue to cry at weddings because we know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/there-is-cruelty-in-divorce-there-is-cruelty-in-forced-or-unfortunate/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [Democracy is not a fragile flower; still it needs cultivating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/democracy-is-not-a-fragile-flower-still-it-needs-cultivating/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 1,004 Fragile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragile/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we speak the word 'life,' it must be understood we are not referring to life as we know it from its surface of fact, but to that fragile, fluctuating center which forms never reach.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antonin Artaud" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-understood-we-are-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fragile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-understood-we-are-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/antonin-artaud-3802_fragile_when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-u_1241978.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/antonin-artaud-3802_fragile_when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-u_1241978.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e0/antonin-artaud-3802_fragile_when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-u_1241978.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we speak the word 'life,' it must be understood we are not referring to life as we know it from its…” — Antonin Artaud", "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": "Antonin Artaud", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we speak the word 'life,'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-understood-we-are-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/when-we-speak-the-word-life-it-must-be-understood-we-are-not/#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 } } ] } ```