Book Quote by Charles Dickens
““A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it! Something of the awfulness, even of Death itself, is referable to this. No more can I turn the leaves of this dear book that I loved, and vainly hope in time to read it all. No more can I look into the depths of this unfathomable water, wherein, as momentary lights glanced into it, I have had glimpses of buried treasure and other things submerged. It was appointed that the book should shut with a a spring, for ever and for ever, when I had read but a page. It was appointed that the water should be locked in an eternal frost, when the light was playing on its surface, and I stood in ignorance on the shore. My friend is dead, my neighbour is dead, my love, the darling of my soul, is dead; it is the inexorable consolidation and perpetuation of the secret that was always in that individuality, and which I shall carry in mine to my life's end. In any of the burial-places of this city through which I pass, is there a sleeper more inscrutable than its busy inhabitants are, in their innermost personality, to me, or than I am to them?””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Mystery of Edwin Drood (unfinished), 1870
The passage reflects on the inherent mystery of each individual, suggesting that every person holds secrets unknown even to those closest to them, and that this unknowability is a profound aspect of human existence.
In simple terms: Everyone is a secret to others, and we can never fully understand each other.
Accept the mystery of others and focus on empathy.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- urban life
- grief
- personal reflection
- literary analysis
- philosophical contemplation
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does recognizing others' secrets change your interactions?
- Can embracing mystery reduce fear of death?
The dense, poetic style may obscure practical application for everyday readers.