--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like those great sphinxes lounging…" description: "\"Like those great sphinxes lounging through eternity in noble attitudes upon the desert sand, they gaze incuriously at nothing, calm and wise.\" — Charle..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/charles-baudelaire-473_attitude_like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-throu_2686757.jpg" --- # Like those great sphinxes lounging through eternity in… ![“Like those great sphinxes lounging through eternity in noble attitudes upon the desert sand, they gaze incuriously at nothing, calm and wise.” quote by Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/charles-baudelaire-473_attitude_like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-throu_2686757.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/charles-baudelaire-473_attitude_like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-throu_2686757.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/charles-baudelaire-473_attitude_like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-throu_2686757.jpg) > “Like those great sphinxes lounging through eternity in noble attitudes upon the desert sand, they gaze incuriously at nothing, calm and wise.” [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Timeless beings observe the world calmly, embodying wisdom and detachment. **In simple terms:** Sphinxes symbolize serene wisdom. Key Takeaway Cultivate calm observation. Themes philosophy timelessness wisdom Mood serene thoughtful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal meditation - art criticism Key Concepts symbolic imagery contemplation Questions to Reflect On - What does calm observation reveal? - How to balance wisdom with action? A Different Perspective Detachment may hinder engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Calm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calm/) [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Desert sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert-sand/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Lounging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lounging/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Sphinx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sphinx/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [“They are alike, prim scholar and perfervid lover: When comes the season of decay, they both decide Upon sweet, husky cats to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/they-are-alike-prim-scholar-and-perfervid-lover-when-comes-the-season/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“At most, a hundred paces separated him from them. The powerful beast, seeing the riders and horses, rose on his fore paws and began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/at-most-a-hundred-paces-separated-him-from-them-the-powerful-beast/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [“Define us as a sex. LORD ILLINGWORTH Sphinxes without secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/define-us-as-a-sex-lord-illingworth-sphinxes-without-secrets/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Sphinxes without secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/sphinxes-without-secrets/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Describe us as a sex," was her challenge. "Sphinxes without secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/describe-us-as-a-sex-was-her-challenge-sphinxes-without-secrets/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [They sped by a pack of sea lions lounging on the docks, and she swore she saw an old homeless guy sitting among them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/they-sped-by-a-pack-of-sea-lions-lounging-on-the-docks-and-she-swore/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [I sing songs from the theater and pop songs. When I say 'pop songs,' I mean from the 90's. And I tell jokes. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-benanti/i-sing-songs-from-the-theater-and-pop-songs-when-i-say-pop-songs-i/) [Laura Benanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-benanti/) > [My ideal life is just lounging around the house and every once in a while I'll kind of write something, and then I'll leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/my-ideal-life-is-just-lounging-around-the-house-and-every-once-in-a/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [Life on board a pleasure steamer violates every moral and physical condition of healthy life except fresh air. . . . It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/life-on-board-a-pleasure-steamer-violates-every-moral-and-physical/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I think of myself as the queen of lounging. No lounge queen is complete without lounge clothes and house wigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-williams/i-think-of-myself-as-the-queen-of-lounging-no-lounge-queen-is/) [Wendy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-williams/) > [Free... Yes...FREE time Is what retirement brings Leisure, lounging and loafing And other lazy things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walter-bratton/free-yes-free-time-is-what-retirement-brings-leisure-lounging-and/) [John Walter Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walter-bratton/) > [And then, I do love my shopping, but actually, lounging is the big thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delta-burke/and-then-i-do-love-my-shopping-but-actually-lounging-is-the-big-thing/) [Delta Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delta-burke/) > [When I'm lounging at home it has to be my trackpants and T-shirt. If I am going out, I prefer wearing a nice dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-kumar/when-i-m-lounging-at-home-it-has-to-be-my-trackpants-and-t-shirt-if-i/) [Tulsi Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-kumar/) > [Books, gentlemen, are a species of men, and introduced to them you circulate in the "very best society" that this world can furnish, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/books-gentlemen-are-a-species-of-men-and-introduced-to-them-you/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## More by Charles Baudelaire > [Who would dare assign to art the sterile function of imitating nature?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/who-would-dare-assign-to-art-the-sterile-function-of-imitating-nature/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”—Charles Baudelaire “The second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-greatest-trick-the-devil-ever-pulled-was-convincing-the-world-he/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“This life is a hospital in which each patient is possessed by the desire to change beds. One wants to suffer in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/this-life-is-a-hospital-in-which-each-patient-is-possessed-by-the/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [There is no such thing as a long piece of work, except one that you dare not start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-long-piece-of-work-except-one-that-you/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Our religion is itself profoundly sad - a religion of universal anguish, and one which, because of its very catholicity, grants full liberty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/our-religion-is-itself-profoundly-sad-a-religion-of-universal-anguish/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [But the true voyagers are only those who leave Just to be leaving; hearts light, like balloons, They never turn aside from their fatality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/but-the-true-voyagers-are-only-those-who-leave-just-to-be-leaving/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Amer savoir, celui qu'on tire du voyage! Bitter is the knowledge gained in travelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/amer-savoir-celui-qu-on-tire-du-voyage-bitter-is-the-knowledge-gained/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“Car je cherche le vide, el le noir, el le nu!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/car-je-cherche-le-vide-el-le-noir-el-le-nu/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“I can barely conceive a type of beauty in which there is no melancholy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/i-can-barely-conceive-a-type-of-beauty-in-which-there-is-no-melancholy/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [The vices of man, as full of horror as one might suppose them to be, contain the proof (if in nothing else but their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-vices-of-man-as-full-of-horror-as-one-might-suppose-them-to-be/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Multitude, solitude: equal and interchangeable terms for the active and prolific poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/multitude-solitude-equal-and-interchangeable-terms-for-the-active-and/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Any healthy man can go without food for two days - but not without poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/any-healthy-man-can-go-without-food-for-two-days-but-not-without/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Drink wine, drink poetry, drink virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/drink-wine-drink-poetry-drink-virtue/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Man loves man so much that when he flees the city, it is still to seek the crowd, that is, to rebuild the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/man-loves-man-so-much-that-when-he-flees-the-city-it-is-still-to-seek/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“—But why is she weeping? She, the perfect beauty, Who could put at her feet the conquered human race, What secret malady gnaws at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/but-why-is-she-weeping-she-the-perfect-beauty-who-could-put-at-her/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) [Explore all 454 Charles Baudelaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) Isaiah Harden (Me > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) Sheye Hassan > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [One genuine reason to feel jealous of my parents:-) I will never ever have a kid as awesome as their's...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-genuine-reason-to-feel-jealous-of-my-parents-i-will-never-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [My attitude it that you don't give in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/my-attitude-it-that-you-don-t-give-in/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [Transparency pertains to impartial behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Like those great sphinxes lounging through eternity in noble attitudes upon the desert sand, they gaze incuriously at nothing, calm and wise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Baudelaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-through-eternity-in-noble/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attitude" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-through-eternity-in-noble/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/charles-baudelaire-473_attitude_like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-throu_2686757.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/charles-baudelaire-473_attitude_like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-throu_2686757.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca0/charles-baudelaire-473_attitude_like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-throu_2686757.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like those great sphinxes lounging through eternity in noble attitudes upon the desert sand, they gaze…” — Charles Baudelaire", "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": "Charles Baudelaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Like those great sphinxes lounging through...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-through-eternity-in-noble/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/like-those-great-sphinxes-lounging-through-eternity-in-noble/#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 } } ] } ```