--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wonder ... when it was that the world…" description: "\"“I wonder ... when it was that the world first went amiss, and men forgot how to live and to love and to be happy.”\" — Daphne du Maurier" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/daphne-du-maurier-1185_world-went_i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-firs_1588198.png" --- # I wonder ... when it was that the world first went amiss… ![“I wonder ... when it was that the world first went amiss, and men forgot how to live and to love and to be happy.” quote by Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/daphne-du-maurier-1185_world-went_i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-firs_1588198.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/daphne-du-maurier-1185_world-went_i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-firs_1588198.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/daphne-du-maurier-1185_world-went_i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-firs_1588198.png) > ““I wonder ... when it was that the world first went amiss, and men forgot how to live and to love and to be happy.”” [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on a loss of fundamental human values—how society can drift away from living, loving, and happiness. **In simple terms:** People can forget how to live, love, and be happy. Key Takeaway Re‑connect with simple joys and compassion. Themes loss humanity values Mood melancholic contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal relationships - community building - mental health - cultural critique Key Concepts existential reflection moral decay Questions to Reflect On - What values have you neglected? - How can you restore joy in daily life? A Different Perspective It may romanticize a past that never existed, overlooking present complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [thus men forgot that all deities reside in the human breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/thus-men-forgot-that-all-deities-reside-in-the-human-breast/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Something had gone amiss with men, and the weak ones were dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/something-had-gone-amiss-with-men-and-the-weak-ones-were-dangerous/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [Man is the only thing that has no further use after something goes amiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/man-is-the-only-thing-that-has-no-further-use-after-something-goes/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“My lady,” Maege Mormont said to her one morning as they rode through a steady rain, “you seem so somber. Is aught amiss?” My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/my-lady-maege-mormont-said-to-her-one-morning-as-they-rode-through-a/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“That something is everywhere and always amiss is part of the very stuff of creation. It is as though each clay form had baked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/that-something-is-everywhere-and-always-amiss-is-part-of-the-very/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Evil comes not amiss if it comes alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/evil-comes-not-amiss-if-it-comes-alone/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Ten censure wrong for one who writes amiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/ten-censure-wrong-for-one-who-writes-amiss/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A ballad once in a while doesn't go amiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissie-hynde/a-ballad-once-in-a-while-doesn-t-go-amiss/) [Chrissie Hynde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissie-hynde/) > [“You just know something is amiss, when you look at someone and long for something that is not yours or you cannot have. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nad-ge-richards/you-just-know-something-is-amiss-when-you-look-at-someone-and-long/) [Nadège Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nad-ge-richards/) > [The few that pray at all pray oft amiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/the-few-that-pray-at-all-pray-oft-amiss/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Better to love amiss than nothing to have loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/better-to-love-amiss-than-nothing-to-have-loved/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [Whatever I have said is in the interest of the system, and it has never been taken amiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-bhattacharya/whatever-i-have-said-is-in-the-interest-of-the-system-and-it-has/) [Arundhati Bhattacharya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-bhattacharya/) > [He that thinks amiss, concludes worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-that-thinks-amiss-concludes-worse/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The world went on, as it does, without my full participation, and I only woke up from the reverie when someone said my name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-world-went-on-as-it-does-without-my-full-participation-and-i-only/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I backpacked around the world and went to places like Mexico City and Pakistan, where I'm like, 'Oh. Things aren't quite as good.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-skoll/i-backpacked-around-the-world-and-went-to-places-like-mexico-city-and/) [Jeffrey Skoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-skoll/) ## More by Daphne du Maurier > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“You understand now... how simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/you-understand-now-how-simple-life-becomes-when-things-like-mirrors/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [I could fight with the living but I could not fight the dead. If there was some woman in London that Maxim loved, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-could-fight-with-the-living-but-i-could-not-fight-the-dead-if-there/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [It wouldn't make for sanity would it, living with the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/it-wouldn-t-make-for-sanity-would-it-living-with-the-devil/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“The only time I got into trouble was when I forged M's signature on the weekly report we had to take home every Friday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/the-only-time-i-got-into-trouble-was-when-i-forged-m-s-signature-on/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [Women want love to be a novel, men a short story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/women-want-love-to-be-a-novel-men-a-short-story/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“We all of us have our particular devil who ruses us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/we-all-of-us-have-our-particular-devil-who-ruses-us-and-torments-us/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“Happy in his silence yet eager for his words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/happy-in-his-silence-yet-eager-for-his-words/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“There have been men in arid deserts where the sun has so disfigured them that they have become things of horror – parched and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/there-have-been-men-in-arid-deserts-where-the-sun-has-so-disfigured/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“Packing up. The nagging worry of departure. When shutting drawers and flinging wide an hotel wardrobe, or the impersonal shelves of a furnished villa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/packing-up-the-nagging-worry-of-departure-when-shutting-drawers-and/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“And perhaps one day, in after years, someone would wander there and listen to the silence, as she had done, and catch the whisper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/and-perhaps-one-day-in-after-years-someone-would-wander-there-and/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“You thought I was mad. Perhaps I was. Perhaps I am. It doesn't make for sanity, does it, living with the devil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/you-thought-i-was-mad-perhaps-i-was-perhaps-i-am-it-doesn-t-make-for/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“many impressions to seize and hold, familiar loved façades, balconies, windows, water lapping the cellar steps of decaying palaces, the little red house where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/many-impressions-to-seize-and-hold-familiar-loved-fa-ades-balconies/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [People who travel are always fugitives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/people-who-travel-are-always-fugitives/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) [Explore all 269 Daphne du Maurier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## More World Went quotes > [I backpacked around the world and went to places like Mexico City and Pakistan, where I'm like, 'Oh. Things aren't quite as good.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-skoll/i-backpacked-around-the-world-and-went-to-places-like-mexico-city-and/) [Jeffrey Skoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-skoll/) > [The world went on, as it does, without my full participation, and I only woke up from the reverie when someone said my name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-world-went-on-as-it-does-without-my-full-participation-and-i-only/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [In the course of my lifetime, that world went from violence to a kind of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/in-the-course-of-my-lifetime-that-world-went-from-violence-to-a-kind/) [Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/) > [Things changed, people changed, and the world went rolling along right outside the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/things-changed-people-changed-and-the-world-went-rolling-along-right/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [The world went mad and used us as an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/the-world-went-mad-and-used-us-as-an-excuse/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [“It didn't feel like the last night of anything anymore, just that the world went on and would follow us home”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mcclure/it-didn-t-feel-like-the-last-night-of-anything-anymore-just-that-the/) [Wendy McClure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mcclure/) > [“The world went from black and white and into color when I laid eyes on you, my love. There'll be no going back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-lilley/the-world-went-from-black-and-white-and-into-color-when-i-laid-eyes/) [R.K. Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-lilley/) > [We are the people who won the Second World War and saved the world. We went to the moon. We gave the world the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-williams/we-are-the-people-who-won-the-second-world-war-and-saved-the-world-we/) [Brian Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-williams/) > [I closed my eyes and listened to the occasional chirps of tiny birds hidden in the trees around us, the bubbling of water over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi-kirby/i-closed-my-eyes-and-listened-to-the-occasional-chirps-of-tiny-birds/) [Jessi Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi-kirby/) > [“And if the world went to hell in a handbasket-as it seemed to be doing-you could say good-bye to everyone and retreat to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/and-if-the-world-went-to-hell-in-a-handbasket-as-it-seemed-to-be/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [The world went tilted in a lovely way - suddenly, television was no longer television. It was like, 'Oh, my God, this is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kari-skogland/the-world-went-tilted-in-a-lovely-way-suddenly-television-was-no/) [Kari Skogland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kari-skogland/) > [I didn't go around the world, I went around the world on a private jet. I didn't have a hotel room, we had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-martin/i-didn-t-go-around-the-world-i-went-around-the-world-on-a-private-jet/) [Ricky Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-martin/) > [“The world had went to hell, but at least I'd have pretty toenails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-wynters/the-world-had-went-to-hell-but-at-least-i-d-have-pretty-toenails/) [Rose Wynters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-wynters/) > [“I was feeling like the only person in the world. So I went downstairs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auric-adams/i-was-feeling-like-the-only-person-in-the-world-so-i-went-downstairs/) Auric Adams > [“(was it because the whole world went online – is that why we never wrote another word?).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvette-walker/was-it-because-the-whole-world-went-online-is-that-why-we-never-wrote/) [Yvette Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvette-walker/) Browse all 16 World Went quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I wonder ... when it was that the world first went amiss, and men forgot how to live and to love and to be happy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daphne du Maurier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-first-went-amiss-and-men-forgot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "World Went" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-first-went-amiss-and-men-forgot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/daphne-du-maurier-1185_world-went_i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-firs_1588198.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/daphne-du-maurier-1185_world-went_i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-firs_1588198.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/daphne-du-maurier-1185_world-went_i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-firs_1588198.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wonder ... when it was that the world first went amiss, and men forgot how to live and to love and to be…” — Daphne du Maurier", "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": "Daphne du Maurier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I wonder ... when it was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-first-went-amiss-and-men-forgot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-wonder-when-it-was-that-the-world-first-went-amiss-and-men-forgot/#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 } } ] } ```