--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it was more than that. There was an…" description: "\"“But it was more than that. There was an indefinable ingredient, a kind of excitement. It had something to do with history and the past, that excitemen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0aa/barbara-vine-23624_every-man_but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-i_3021603.jpg" --- # But it was more than that. There was an indefinable… ![“But it was more than that. There was an indefinable ingredient, a kind of excitement. It had something to do with history and the past, that excitement, and something to do with potential as well, with what Orwell or somebody had said. that every man really knew in his heart the finest place to be…” quote by Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0aa/barbara-vine-23624_every-man_but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-i_3021603.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0aa/barbara-vine-23624_every-man_but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-i_3021603.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0aa/barbara-vine-23624_every-man_but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-i_3021603.jpg) > ““But it was more than that. There was an indefinable ingredient, a kind of excitement. It had something to do with history and the past, that excitement, and something to do with potential as well, with what Orwell or somebody had said. that every man really knew in his heart the finest place to be was the countryside on a summer's day. I was happy, that's what it was.”” [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nostalgia and potential intertwine, creating a yearning for a timeless, idealized place. **In simple terms:** Longing for idealized past and future. Key Takeaway Cherish moments that blend history and hope. Themes nostalgia potential history Mood reflective nostalgic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - travel writing - personal reflection - creative projects Key Concepts literary analysis psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does the countryside symbolize for you? - How can you blend past lessons with future aspirations? A Different Perspective Idealization may overlook present realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Countryside Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/countryside-summer-4893862/) [Every man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-man/) [Excitement History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excitement-history-4893865/) [Excitement Potential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excitement-potential-4893866/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Past Excitement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-excitement-4893864/) [Place Countryside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-countryside-4893863/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“War is sometimes described as long periods of boredom punctuated by short moments of excitement. History is often similar, if rather safer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-arnold/war-is-sometimes-described-as-long-periods-of-boredom-punctuated-by/) [John H. Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-arnold/) > [“John, let me make one thing clear,” Jim said, cutting me off in his most stern, evangelical voice. “Every man is blessed with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/john-let-me-make-one-thing-clear-jim-said-cutting-me-off-in-his-most/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [“China reminds me most of America at its own moment of transformation—the period that Mark Twain and Charles Warner named the Gilded Age, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/china-reminds-me-most-of-america-at-its-own-moment-of-transformation/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-religions-must-be-tolerated-for-every-man-must-get-to-heaven-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Every man has his secret sadness and sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-has-his-secret-sadness-and-sorrows-which-the-world-knows/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) ## More by Barbara Vine > [“Time, the best of all doctors, though it kills you in the end, had done more than therapy could.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/time-the-best-of-all-doctors-though-it-kills-you-in-the-end-had-done/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“Our children, when young, are part of ourselves. When they grow up they are just other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/our-children-when-young-are-part-of-ourselves-when-they-grow-up-they/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“I am not in this world to live up to your expectations and you are not in this world to live up to mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/i-am-not-in-this-world-to-live-up-to-your-expectations-and-you-are/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“I think life's too long to do anything that we know is wrong before we begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/i-think-life-s-too-long-to-do-anything-that-we-know-is-wrong-before/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“Those who have inside their lives an empty space need to fill it with love if they can, and if they cannot, with things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/those-who-have-inside-their-lives-an-empty-space-need-to-fill-it-with/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“The wonderful thing about the human mind is the way it copes when the worst happens. Beyond that worst happening you think there can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/the-wonderful-thing-about-the-human-mind-is-the-way-it-copes-when-the/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“His books distracted him for a while. They were like the aspirins you take when you've got a headache. They kill the pain for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/his-books-distracted-him-for-a-while-they-were-like-the-aspirins-you/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“Evil was a stupid word. It had the same sort of sense, largely meaningless, amorphous, diffuse, wooly, as applied to "love." Everyone had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/evil-was-a-stupid-word-it-had-the-same-sort-of-sense-largely/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“A disturbing experience it had been, exciting and confusing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/a-disturbing-experience-it-had-been-exciting-and-confusing/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“Life is too short to be so circumspect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/life-is-too-short-to-be-so-circumspect/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“By the age I was then I ought to know the truism that things always look different in the morning. As the night comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/by-the-age-i-was-then-i-ought-to-know-the-truism-that-things-always/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“We are all mad at three in the morning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/we-are-all-mad-at-three-in-the-morning/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“Isak Dinesen said that life is no more than a process for turning healthy young puppies into mangy old dogs and man but an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/isak-dinesen-said-that-life-is-no-more-than-a-process-for-turning/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“Mark Twain had written somewhere: We are all mad at night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/mark-twain-had-written-somewhere-we-are-all-mad-at-night/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [“Events in his own past he never thought of as evil but rather as mistaken, immensely regrettable, brought about by fear and greed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/events-in-his-own-past-he-never-thought-of-as-evil-but-rather-as/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) [Explore all 25 Barbara Vine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) ## More Every man quotes > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Every man has his secret sadness and sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-has-his-secret-sadness-and-sorrows-which-the-world-knows/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-religions-must-be-tolerated-for-every-man-must-get-to-heaven-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity, the less they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/use-every-man-according-to-his-desert-and-who-should-scape-whipping/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“China reminds me most of America at its own moment of transformation—the period that Mark Twain and Charles Warner named the Gilded Age, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/china-reminds-me-most-of-america-at-its-own-moment-of-transformation/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [“John, let me make one thing clear,” Jim said, cutting me off in his most stern, evangelical voice. “Every man is blessed with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/john-let-me-make-one-thing-clear-jim-said-cutting-me-off-in-his-most/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Every man's heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe a final breath. And if what that man did in his life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-ultimate-warrior/every-man-s-heart-one-day-beats-its-final-beat-his-lungs-breathe-a/) [The Ultimate Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-ultimate-warrior/) [Browse all 3,342 Every man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it was more than that. There was an indefinable ingredient, a kind of excitement. It had something to do with history and the past, that excitement, and something to do with potential as well, with what Orwell or somebody had said. that every man really knew in his heart the finest place to be was the countryside on a summer's day. I was happy, that's what it was.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Vine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-indefinable-ingredient-a-kind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Every man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-indefinable-ingredient-a-kind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0aa/barbara-vine-23624_every-man_but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-i_3021603.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0aa/barbara-vine-23624_every-man_but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-i_3021603.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0aa/barbara-vine-23624_every-man_but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-i_3021603.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But it was more than that. There was an indefinable ingredient, a kind of excitement. It had something to do…” — Barbara Vine", "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": "Barbara Vine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But it was more than that....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-indefinable-ingredient-a-kind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/but-it-was-more-than-that-there-was-an-indefinable-ingredient-a-kind/#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 } } ] } ```