--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is there such a thing?' Birle asked. He…" description: "\"“Is there such a thing?' Birle asked. He looked thoughtfully at her, but not as if he saw her. 'Men have dreamed of it, although none has ever held it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/cynthia-voigt-8736_golden-age_is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-loo_1867563.jpg" --- # Is there such a thing?' Birle asked. He looked… ![“Is there such a thing?' Birle asked. He looked thoughtfully at her, but not as if he saw her. 'Men have dreamed of it, although none has ever held it in his hand, not to my knowledge. I cannot say that there is such a thing, no. But equally I cannot say there is not. Why should a man be able to…” quote by Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/cynthia-voigt-8736_golden-age_is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-loo_1867563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/cynthia-voigt-8736_golden-age_is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-loo_1867563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/cynthia-voigt-8736_golden-age_is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-loo_1867563.jpg) > ““Is there such a thing?' Birle asked. He looked thoughtfully at her, but not as if he saw her. 'Men have dreamed of it, although none has ever held it in his hand, not to my knowledge. I cannot say that there is such a thing, no. But equally I cannot say there is not. Why should a man be able to dream of it if it cannot be? If it is so impossible, then what put's it into a man's mind? Greed puts many things into men's mind, and fear does too. But men dream of other things, as well-- of justice, of the lost golden age, of an order to their world... of medicine to cure all sickness...”” [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage explores the tension between dreaming of impossible ideals and the human drive to imagine possibilities, acknowledging both fear and greed as motivators. **In simple terms:** People dream of impossible things, driven by fear and greed. Key Takeaway Balance imagination with realistic goals. Themes dreams philosophy human nature fear greed Mood contemplative hopeful critical Type philosophical inspirational literary When to use this quote - creative writing - personal reflection - philosophical debates - innovation sessions Key Concepts existentialism idealism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What impossible ideas motivate you? - How do fear and greed shape your aspirations? A Different Perspective Dreams can inspire but also mislead without grounding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Golden age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-age/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“Almost without exception, they are men who dreamed of athletic heroism as children; becoming umpires was their compromise with their own lack of talent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-boswell/almost-without-exception-they-are-men-who-dreamed-of-athletic-heroism/) [Thomas Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-boswell/) > [“Learn?” he said then. Was that bitterness in his voice? “How? I am as I was made: unchanging. Long ago, men dreamed a sword…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/learn-he-said-then-was-that-bitterness-in-his-voice-how-i-am-as-i-was/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [“When had men not been mystified by women? They were the magic that men dreamed of, and sometimes their dreams were nightmares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/when-had-men-not-been-mystified-by-women-they-were-the-magic-that-men/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [He was moving through a new order of creation, of which few men had ever dreamed. Beyond the realms of sea and land and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/he-was-moving-through-a-new-order-of-creation-of-which-few-men-had/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [The reason why men who mind their own business succeed is that they have so little competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/the-reason-why-men-who-mind-their-own-business-succeed-is-that-they/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [I just don't get men. Mind you, I don't get me either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-earl/i-just-don-t-get-men-mind-you-i-don-t-get-me-either/) [Rae Earl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-earl/) > [When I say that all men have the mind which cannot bear to see the suffering of others, my meaning is illustrated this way:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/when-i-say-that-all-men-have-the-mind-which-cannot-bear-to-see-the/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [After a lifetime of research and experience,I've written a book on how to deal with men's mind games. Whenever I come in contact with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabeen-waheed/after-a-lifetime-of-research-and-experience-i-ve-written-a-book-on/) Jabeen Waheed > [Nothing is less forgiven than setting Patterns Men have no mind to follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-savile/nothing-is-less-forgiven-than-setting-patterns-men-have-no-mind-to/) [Jimmy Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-savile/) > [“Only men who do not mind a hard life, with scanty food, little water and lots of discomfort, men who possess stamina and initiative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/only-men-who-do-not-mind-a-hard-life-with-scanty-food-little-water/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [What impresses men is not mind, but the result of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/what-impresses-men-is-not-mind-but-the-result-of-mind/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [“It is said that when men have made up their mind to die they act and speak like gods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-chivers/it-is-said-that-when-men-have-made-up-their-mind-to-die-they-act-and/) [C.J. Chivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-chivers/) > [“Hold all men in mind as being healthy, happy, and prosperous. When you do this you are helping others and sowing good for yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venice-j-bloodworth/hold-all-men-in-mind-as-being-healthy-happy-and-prosperous-when-you/) Venice J. Bloodworth > [One can see now how the idea of heaven takes hold of men's consciousness, how it gains ground even when all the props have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/one-can-see-now-how-the-idea-of-heaven-takes-hold-of-men-s/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“We men dream dreams, we work magic, we do good, we do evil. The dragons do not dream. They are dreams. They do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/we-men-dream-dreams-we-work-magic-we-do-good-we-do-evil-the-dragons/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More by Cynthia Voigt > [You must not let yourself become too respectable. Keep yourself a little wild. What is life for, if not for the living of it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/you-must-not-let-yourself-become-too-respectable-keep-yourself-a/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“On a bright Sunday morning in the early years of the last century,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/on-a-bright-sunday-morning-in-the-early-years-of-the-last-century/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“People had no more choice than animals about the burdens they carried.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/people-had-no-more-choice-than-animals-about-the-burdens-they-carried/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [The worst things weren't outside of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/the-worst-things-weren-t-outside-of-you/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“He knew it was perfect, and perfectly beautiful. He thought about how much she would like it. When he thought like that, happiness swelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/he-knew-it-was-perfect-and-perfectly-beautiful-he-thought-about-how/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“You were going to fall, you always did, but you had to get up fast and keep going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/you-were-going-to-fall-you-always-did-but-you-had-to-get-up-fast-and/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [Even the bad books I write are satisfying. I'm my least critical reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/even-the-bad-books-i-write-are-satisfying-i-m-my-least-critical-reader/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [People can be unimaginably foolish...and they can be unimaginably grand, at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/people-can-be-unimaginably-foolish-and-they-can-be-unimaginably-grand/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“And so I was. I can put on the cloak of the world I find myself in, however I happen to find myself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/and-so-i-was-i-can-put-on-the-cloak-of-the-world-i-find-myself-in/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“The people they had been last summer, the person she had been--Dicey guessed she'd never be afraid again, not the way she had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/the-people-they-had-been-last-summer-the-person-she-had-been-dicey/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“ I felt that the world itself had changed and that it would never be steady under my feet again. I felt I understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/i-felt-that-the-world-itself-had-changed-and-that-it-would-never-be/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [Kids are really tougher than adults, but we tend to forget this in an affluent society that lets kids indulge themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/kids-are-really-tougher-than-adults-but-we-tend-to-forget-this-in-an/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“Mina thought to herself, watching, her momma was the kind of woman she wanted to be, wherever else she got to in her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/mina-thought-to-herself-watching-her-momma-was-the-kind-of-woman-she/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“The No filled the whole air of the house. Every time she breathed in she breathed in that No.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/the-no-filled-the-whole-air-of-the-house-every-time-she-breathed-in/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) > [“Mina wanted some of the kind of love Momma gave to her children, where love was the first and deepest thing, and the questions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/mina-wanted-some-of-the-kind-of-love-momma-gave-to-her-children-where/) [Cynthia Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) [Explore all 78 Cynthia Voigt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/) ## More Golden age quotes > [We're in a golden age for television. TV 25 years ago was slow, plodding , boring. The production values were not great. Today it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-dunbar/we-re-in-a-golden-age-for-television-tv-25-years-ago-was-slow/) [Adrian Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-dunbar/) > [Life's golden age is when the kids are too old to need baby-sitters and too young to borrow the family car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-golden-age-is-when-the-kids-are-too-old-to-need-baby-sitters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I come from the golden age of hip hop when all the greats came on the scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coolio/i-come-from-the-golden-age-of-hip-hop-when-all-the-greats-came-on-the/) [Coolio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coolio/) > [I have the most wonderful childhood memories of holidays in the golden age before foreign package holidays were even a glint in Michael O'Leary's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/i-have-the-most-wonderful-childhood-memories-of-holidays-in-the/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [I often think that those people are the happiest who know nothing at all of the world, and sitting in the little empire of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-montagu/i-often-think-that-those-people-are-the-happiest-who-know-nothing-at/) [Elizabeth Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-montagu/) > [“Your time is a good time, and though I have to leave, you can stay. How lucky you are to be in the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/your-time-is-a-good-time-and-though-i-have-to-leave-you-can-stay-how/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [You just never know when you're living in a golden age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/you-just-never-know-when-you-re-living-in-a-golden-age/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [I find myself now preaching about the golden age of manned spaceflight, because something went on there, within us, that we’re missing. When we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cunningham/i-find-myself-now-preaching-about-the-golden-age-of-manned/) [Walter Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cunningham/) > [The '50s was the golden age of music all over the world for some crazy, 'X-File'-like reason I can't quite understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ry-cooder/the-50s-was-the-golden-age-of-music-all-over-the-world-for-some-crazy/) [Ry Cooder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ry-cooder/) > [“Many 18th- and 19th-century artists rejected, criticized, or ignored the Industrial Revolution. Instead of uplifting man, industry seemed to demoralize and dehumanize him. Men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bryant-wilder/many-18th-and-19th-century-artists-rejected-criticized-or-ignored-the/) Jesse Bryant Wilder > [I am here to tell you, TV is not dead. Rather, it is constantly evolving as we are. My view is that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-dubuc/i-am-here-to-tell-you-tv-is-not-dead-rather-it-is-constantly-evolving/) [Nancy Dubuc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-dubuc/) > [“For the Arabs, and the above all for the 1.2 million Arabs of Palestine, the partitioning of the land in which they had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-collins/for-the-arabs-and-the-above-all-for-the-1-2-million-arabs-of/) [Larry Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-collins/) > [“In the narrative of his third voyage Columbus wrote: "For I believe that the earthly Paradise lies here, which no one can enter except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/in-the-narrative-of-his-third-voyage-columbus-wrote-for-i-believe/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“One cannot, therefore, understand Arabic science without considering the extent to which Islam influenced scientific and philosophical thought. Arabic science was, throughout its golden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-al-khalili/one-cannot-therefore-understand-arabic-science-without-considering/) [Jim Al-Khalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-al-khalili/) > [As Indians, we must of course learn from the past; but we must remain focused on the future. In my view, education is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pranab-mukherjee/as-indians-we-must-of-course-learn-from-the-past-but-we-must-remain/) [Pranab Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pranab-mukherjee/) [Browse all 344 Golden age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Is there such a thing?' Birle asked. He looked thoughtfully at her, but not as if he saw her. 'Men have dreamed of it, although none has ever held it in his hand, not to my knowledge. I cannot say that there is such a thing, no. But equally I cannot say there is not. Why should a man be able to dream of it if it cannot be? If it is so impossible, then what put's it into a man's mind? Greed puts many things into men's mind, and fear does too. But men dream of other things, as well-- of justice, of the lost golden age, of an order to their world... of medicine to cure all sickness...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cynthia Voigt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-looked-thoughtfully-at-her-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Golden age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-looked-thoughtfully-at-her-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/cynthia-voigt-8736_golden-age_is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-loo_1867563.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/cynthia-voigt-8736_golden-age_is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-loo_1867563.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/cynthia-voigt-8736_golden-age_is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-loo_1867563.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Is there such a thing?' Birle asked. He looked thoughtfully at her, but not as if he saw her. 'Men have…” — Cynthia Voigt", "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": "Cynthia Voigt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-voigt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Is there such a thing?' Birle...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-looked-thoughtfully-at-her-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-voigt/is-there-such-a-thing-birle-asked-he-looked-thoughtfully-at-her-but/#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 } } ] } ```