--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I've ever regretted anything, it was…" description: "\"If I've ever regretted anything, it was putting all my eggs in one basket, holing up and kneeling at the altar of literature, instead of going out and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8be/cynthia-ozick-2945_altar_if-i-ve-ever-regretted-anything-it-was-p_3057060.jpg" --- # If I've ever regretted anything, it was putting all my… ![“If I've ever regretted anything, it was putting all my eggs in one basket, holing up and kneeling at the altar of literature, instead of going out and at least reviewing, running around and trying to write for magazines. That would've been the intelligent thing to do, but I didn't, and that was…” quote by Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8be/cynthia-ozick-2945_altar_if-i-ve-ever-regretted-anything-it-was-p_3057060.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8be/cynthia-ozick-2945_altar_if-i-ve-ever-regretted-anything-it-was-p_3057060.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8be/cynthia-ozick-2945_altar_if-i-ve-ever-regretted-anything-it-was-p_3057060.jpg) > “If I've ever regretted anything, it was putting all my eggs in one basket, holing up and kneeling at the altar of literature, instead of going out and at least reviewing, running around and trying to write for magazines. That would've been the intelligent thing to do, but I didn't, and that was because of fanaticism.” [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Regretting over‑specialization in literature, the author reflects on missed opportunities caused by fanaticism. **In simple terms:** Being too focused on one passion can limit growth. Key Takeaway Balance passion with diverse experiences. Themes creativity regret fanaticism career choices Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing for magazines - exploring new genres - networking - continuous learning Key Concepts specialization opportunity cost literary ambition Questions to Reflect On - What other interests could you explore? - How might a broader approach improve your work? A Different Perspective Fanaticism may prevent practical skill development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fanaticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanaticism/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) ## Related quotes > [I've never regretted anything I've ever done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/i-ve-never-regretted-anything-i-ve-ever-done/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [I've never regretted a swim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murray/i-ve-never-regretted-a-swim/) [Joseph Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murray/) > [I've had some pretty good arguments with people, but I've never regretted it. I've had people come up where it's all emotion and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patton-oswalt/i-ve-had-some-pretty-good-arguments-with-people-but-i-ve-never/) [Patton Oswalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patton-oswalt/) > [“I’ve found the things I’ve regretted most in my life are the things I wanted to do but never had the courage to try.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-kage/i-ve-found-the-things-i-ve-regretted-most-in-my-life-are-the-things-i/) [Linda Kage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-kage/) > [Do you know what, before 'Strictly,' I've always regretted not training as a dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-weymouth/do-you-know-what-before-strictly-i-ve-always-regretted-not-training/) [Emma Weymouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-weymouth/) > [I've always regretted the fact that I've never formally studied and learned the mechanics of writing music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-getz/i-ve-always-regretted-the-fact-that-i-ve-never-formally-studied-and/) [Stan Getz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-getz/) > [...but I've never regretted it. You can't regret experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-ve-never-regretted-it-you-can-t-regret-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would love to tell you that it's been absolutely perfect, that I've been a man that's been super Christian. But I've had mistakes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-styles/i-would-love-to-tell-you-that-it-s-been-absolutely-perfect-that-i-ve/) [A.J. Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-styles/) > [Many times in life I've regretted the things I've said without thinking. But I've never regretted the things I said nearly as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/many-times-in-life-i-ve-regretted-the-things-i-ve-said-without/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [The only time I've ever gone against my instincts, I've regretted it. It was only really one time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/the-only-time-i-ve-ever-gone-against-my-instincts-i-ve-regretted-it/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [I've never made something I've regretted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-humble/i-ve-never-made-something-i-ve-regretted/) Rod Humble > [I've regretted things in my past, but when I think of all the things that made me me, the past is the reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-regretted-things-in-my-past-but-when-i-think-of-all-the-things/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I choose totally by instinct. And the only time I've ever gone against my instincts, I've regretted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/i-choose-totally-by-instinct-and-the-only-time-i-ve-ever-gone-against/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [Every time I've built character, I've regretted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/every-time-i-ve-built-character-i-ve-regretted-it/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I didn't go to the Bob Marley and the Wailers show twice in my life, and I've regretted it every day since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-de-blasio/i-didn-t-go-to-the-bob-marley-and-the-wailers-show-twice-in-my-life/) [Bill de Blasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-de-blasio/) ## More by Cynthia Ozick > [History ... isn't simply what has happened. It's a judgment on what has happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/history-isn-t-simply-what-has-happened-it-s-a-judgment-on-what-has/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [The novelist's intuition for the sacred differs from the translator's interrogation of the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-novelist-s-intuition-for-the-sacred-differs-from-the-translator-s/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Advances in technology neither impede nor augment literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/advances-in-technology-neither-impede-nor-augment-literature/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“The Germans are sentimental. Their word Heimweh . The English say homesick; the same in plain Swedish. Hemsjuk . Leave it to the Germans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/the-germans-are-sentimental-their-word-heimweh-the-english-say/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [To desire to be what one can be is purpose in life. There are no exterior forces. There are only interior forces. Who squanders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/to-desire-to-be-what-one-can-be-is-purpose-in-life-there-are-no/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Imagine an American Hans Christian Andersen, conceive of the Brothers Grimm living in Missouri, and you will approximate Howard Schwartz, a fable-maker and fable-gatherer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/imagine-an-american-hans-christian-andersen-conceive-of-the-brothers/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [literature is an instrument of a culture, not a summary of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/literature-is-an-instrument-of-a-culture-not-a-summary-of-it/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I think a fictional invention grows according to its own development, not the author's. Characters in fiction are not simply as alive as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-think-a-fictional-invention-grows-according-to-its-own-development/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I don't agree with the sentiment 'write what you know.'... I think one should write what one doesn't know. The world is bigger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-don-t-agree-with-the-sentiment-write-what-you-know-i-think-one/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [An essay is a thing of the imagination. If there is information in an essay, it is by-the-by, and if there is an opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/an-essay-is-a-thing-of-the-imagination-if-there-is-information-in-an/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [There was a period... when I used to say, with as much ferocity as I could muster, 'I hate Henry James, and I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/there-was-a-period-when-i-used-to-say-with-as-much-ferocity-as-i/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Godlessness invariably produces vulgarity. Civilization is the product of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/godlessness-invariably-produces-vulgarity-civilization-is-the-product/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Dedication to one's work in the world is the only possible sanctifica-tion. Religion in all its forms is dedication to Someone Else's work, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/dedication-to-one-s-work-in-the-world-is-the-only-possible-sanctifica/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [What was lost in the European cataclysm was not only the Jewish past--the whole life of a civilization--but also a major share ofthe Jewish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/what-was-lost-in-the-european-cataclysm-was-not-only-the-jewish-past/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“We take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/we-take-for-granted-the-very-things-that-most-deserve-our-gratitude/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) [Explore all 144 Cynthia Ozick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) ## More Altar quotes > [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [“...those others - they're looking for trends - subjects to catch a spark - but I have you - a coal from God's altar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/those-others-they-re-looking-for-trends-subjects-to-catch-a-spark-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [There was a time I worshipped at the altar of Rudy Martzke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-johnson-jr/there-was-a-time-i-worshipped-at-the-altar-of-rudy-martzke/) [Ernie Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-johnson-jr/) > [I'm a lapsed altar boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-m-a-lapsed-altar-boy/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [It is when we are in misery that we revere the gods; the prosperous seldom approach the altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silius-italicus/it-is-when-we-are-in-misery-that-we-revere-the-gods-the-prosperous/) [Silius Italicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silius-italicus/) > [We dare not trim stones to make God an altar, for if we do we ruin everything. We would spend time bringing people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/we-dare-not-trim-stones-to-make-god-an-altar-for-if-we-do-we-ruin/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/god-is-the-lord-which-hath-shewed-us-light-bind-the-sacrifice-with/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [“Sacrifice your fear on the altar of your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-van-tuyl/sacrifice-your-fear-on-the-altar-of-your-dreams/) Barbara Van Tuyl > [“It doesn’t really matter what altar you’re being sacrificed on, it’s gonna sting either way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-roquet/it-doesn-t-really-matter-what-altar-you-re-being-sacrificed-on-it-s/) [Angela Roquet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-roquet/) > [Since once again, O Lord, in the steppes of Asia, I have no bread, no wine, no altar, I will raise myself above those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/since-once-again-o-lord-in-the-steppes-of-asia-i-have-no-bread-no/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [I was, not an altar boy, but a reader of the Epistle, and I walked in on a nun and a priest furiously French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-was-not-an-altar-boy-but-a-reader-of-the-epistle-and-i-walked-in-on/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“The quickest way to alter an altar is not with a hammer, or even religious deconstruction, but with a typo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-quickest-way-to-alter-an-altar-is-not-with-a-hammer-or-even/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Beyond the table, there is an altar, with candles lit for Billie Holiday and Willa Carter and Hypatia and Patsy Cline. Next to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/beyond-the-table-there-is-an-altar-with-candles-lit-for-billie/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [I acknowledge that the sacrament of the altar is very God's body in form of bread, but it is in another manner God's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wycliffe/i-acknowledge-that-the-sacrament-of-the-altar-is-very-god-s-body-in/) [John Wycliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wycliffe/) > [“Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dickens-charles/oh-cold-cold-rigid-dreadful-death-set-up-thine-altar-here-and-dress/) [Dickens, Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dickens-charles/) Browse all 131 Altar quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I've ever regretted anything, it was putting all my eggs in one basket, holing up and kneeling at the altar of literature, instead of going out and at least reviewing, running around and trying to write for magazines. 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