--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had to cast out a good many lines…" description: "\"“I had to cast out a good many lines, though, before I got what I wanted, and when I landed the fish I did not for a moment suppose it was my fish. But..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/arthur-machen-11940_good-man_i-had-to-cast-out-a-good-many-lines-thou_3113623.jpg" --- # I had to cast out a good many lines, though, before I got… ![“I had to cast out a good many lines, though, before I got what I wanted, and when I landed the fish I did not for a moment suppose it was my fish. But I listened to what I was told out of a constitutional liking for useless information, and I found myself in possession of a very curious story…” quote by Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/arthur-machen-11940_good-man_i-had-to-cast-out-a-good-many-lines-thou_3113623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/arthur-machen-11940_good-man_i-had-to-cast-out-a-good-many-lines-thou_3113623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b84/arthur-machen-11940_good-man_i-had-to-cast-out-a-good-many-lines-thou_3113623.jpg) > ““I had to cast out a good many lines, though, before I got what I wanted, and when I landed the fish I did not for a moment suppose it was my fish. But I listened to what I was told out of a constitutional liking for useless information, and I found myself in possession of a very curious story, though, as I imagined, not the story I was looking for.”” [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator discards many ideas before finding a story that wasn't what he expected, highlighting the value of unexpected discoveries through persistence. **In simple terms:** Persistence leads to unexpected, valuable outcomes. Key Takeaway Embrace the unexpected. Themes creativity perseverance discovery Mood curious reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - research - exploration - storytelling Key Concepts Narrative serendipity Questions to Reflect On - What unexpected results have you embraced? - How does letting go of expectations help creativity? A Different Perspective The story may not be what you intended, limiting relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curious Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious-story-618332/) [Fish Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish-did-3230196/) [Fish Listened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish-listened-5444025/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Listened Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listened-told-4581045/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Told Constitutional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-constitutional-5444026/) [Useless information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useless-information/) ## Related quotes > [“Man, Fury was right. You should never trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn’t die. I should have listened to you. 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That's interesting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/assad-s-mother-was-a-terror-he-was-terrified-of-her-and-she-kept/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) ## More by Arthur Machen > [We both wondered whether these contradictions that one can't avoid if one begins to think of time and space may not really be proofs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-both-wondered-whether-these-contradictions-that-one-can-t-avoid-if/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [The saint endeavors to recover a gift which he has lost; the sinner tries to obtain something which was never his. 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