--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and…" description: "\"Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and death are changeless things, and when one of these harsh facts springs out upon a man at some sudden turn of the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/arthur-conan-doyle-273_birth_yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death_2861422.jpg" --- # Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and death are changeless… ![“Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and death are changeless things, and when one of these harsh facts springs out upon a man at some sudden turn of the path of life, it dashes off for the moment his mask of civilization and gives a glimpse of the stranger and stronger face below.” quote by Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/arthur-conan-doyle-273_birth_yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death_2861422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/arthur-conan-doyle-273_birth_yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death_2861422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/arthur-conan-doyle-273_birth_yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death_2861422.jpg) > “Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and death are changeless things, and when one of these harsh facts springs out upon a man at some sudden turn of the path of life, it dashes off for the moment his mask of civilization and gives a glimpse of the stranger and stronger face below.” [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## 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 inevitable hardships strip away pretenses, revealing our raw, resilient selves. **In simple terms:** Hardships reveal true character. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges to discover inner strength. Themes hardship humanity identity Mood serious contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crises - health scares - death - sudden loss Key Concepts existential truth psychology resilience Questions to Reflect On - What does your “mask” protect? - How do you confront sudden hardship? A Different Perspective Not all masks fall easily; some may cling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Illness and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness-and-death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Path of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path-of-life/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [In the life of every man there are sudden transitions of feeling, which seem almost miraculous. At once, as if some magician had touched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/in-the-life-of-every-man-there-are-sudden-transitions-of-feeling/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“Sometimes, through the window of a car coming the other way, she caught a glimpse if a stranger's face, then it was gone, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/sometimes-through-the-window-of-a-car-coming-the-other-way-she-caught/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I have heard show business characterized as a refuge for childlike persons in flight from all things harsh and real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-o-connor/i-have-heard-show-business-characterized-as-a-refuge-for-childlike/) [Carroll O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-o-connor/) > [I love things that are harsh and things that are too loud. And I love lulling people into a false sense of security. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fka-twigs/i-love-things-that-are-harsh-and-things-that-are-too-loud-and-i-love/) [FKA twigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fka-twigs/) > [“For the Romantic, it is only the briefest of steps from a glimpse of a stranger to the formulation of a majestic and substantial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/for-the-romantic-it-is-only-the-briefest-of-steps-from-a-glimpse-of-a/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [My generation of writers has been prone to premature illness and death, especially the women. When Black male writers meet it's like a session…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-generation-of-writers-has-been-prone-to-premature-illness-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [We achieve active mastery over illness and death by delegating all responsibility for their management to physicians, and by exiling the sick and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-achieve-active-mastery-over-illness-and-death-by-delegating-all/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [Illness and death are not optional. Patients have a right to determine how they approach them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/illness-and-death-are-not-optional-patients-have-a-right-to-determine/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [When I paint a woman in an armchair, the armchair is there to show illness and death-or as a protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-paint-a-woman-in-an-armchair-the-armchair-is-there-to-show/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [A diet rich in fruits and vegetables plays a role in reducing the risk of all the major causes of illness and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-willett/a-diet-rich-in-fruits-and-vegetables-plays-a-role-in-reducing-the/) [Walter Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-willett/) > [He was too tough to experience disappointments and resentments - negative affections. In this nihilist fin de siècle, he was affirmation. Right through to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-lyotard/he-was-too-tough-to-experience-disappointments-and-resentments/) [Jean-Francois Lyotard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-lyotard/) > [Stripped of all their masquerades, the fears of men are quite identical: the fear of loneliness, rejection, inferiority, unmanageable anger, illness and death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-l-liebman/stripped-of-all-their-masquerades-the-fears-of-men-are-quite/) [Joshua L. Liebman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-l-liebman/) > [Jesus doesn't give an explanation for the pain and sorrow of the world. He comes where the pain is most acute and takes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/jesus-doesn-t-give-an-explanation-for-the-pain-and-sorrow-of-the/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [Tucker was my safe place for three years, my secure dock in a sea of indecision as I dealt with my father's illness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-brown/tucker-was-my-safe-place-for-three-years-my-secure-dock-in-a-sea-of/) [Melissa Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-brown/) > [I will tell you something about stories . . . They aren't just entertainment. Don't be fooled. They are all we have, you see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-marmon-silko/i-will-tell-you-something-about-stories-they-aren-t-just-2/) [Leslie Marmon Silko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-marmon-silko/) ## More by Arthur Conan Doyle > [“shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/shattered-the-bone-and-grazed-the-subclavian-artery-i/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“A study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon. There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/a-study-in-scarlet-eh-why-shouldn-t-we-use-a-little-art-jargon-there/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Holy men? Holy cabbages! Holy bean-pods! What do they do but live and suck in sustenance and grow fat? If that be holiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/holy-men-holy-cabbages-holy-bean-pods-what-do-they-do-but-live-and/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Wonderful!" I ejaculated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/wonderful-i-ejaculated/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Amberley excelled at chess - a mark, Watson, of a scheming mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/amberley-excelled-at-chess-a-mark-watson-of-a-scheming-mind/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity... is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/ex-professor-moriarty-of-mathematical-celebrity-is-the-napoleon-of/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-a-doctor-does-go-wrong-he-is-the-first-of-criminals-he-has-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/how-small-we-feel-with-our-petty-ambitions-and-strivings-in-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [You wish to put me in the dark. I tell you that I will never be put in the dark. You wish to beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/you-wish-to-put-me-in-the-dark-i-tell-you-that-i-will-never-be-put-in/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-he-said-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“It is hard luck on a young fellow to have expensive tastes, great expectations, aristocratic connections but no actual money in his pocket, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-is-hard-luck-on-a-young-fellow-to-have-expensive-tastes-great/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/in-the-year-1878-i-took-my-degree-of-doctor-of-medicine-of-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) [Explore all 740 Arthur Conan Doyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and death are changeless things, and when one of these harsh facts springs out upon a man at some sudden turn of the path of life, it dashes off for the moment his mask of civilization and gives a glimpse of the stranger and stronger face below.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Conan Doyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death-are-changeless-things-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death-are-changeless-things-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/arthur-conan-doyle-273_birth_yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death_2861422.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/arthur-conan-doyle-273_birth_yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death_2861422.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/arthur-conan-doyle-273_birth_yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death_2861422.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and death are changeless things, and when one of these harsh facts springs…” — Arthur Conan Doyle", "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": "Arthur Conan Doyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Yet birth, and lust, and illness,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death-are-changeless-things-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death-are-changeless-things-and/#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 } } ] } ```