---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: nothing which we are to perceive in this…"
description: "\"nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility\" — e. e. cummings"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/e-e-cummings-2586_fragility_nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this_2539341.png"
---

#  nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the…

![“nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility” quote by e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/e-e-cummings-2586_fragility_nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this_2539341.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/e-e-cummings-2586_fragility_nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this_2539341.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/e-e-cummings-2586_fragility_nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this_2539341.png)

> “nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility”

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Perception is limited; the profound fragility of intense feeling surpasses all worldly experiences.

**In simple terms:** Intense fragility outweighs perception.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge the power of deep emotional sensitivity.

Themes

fragility perception emotion existence intensity subjectivity

Mood

melancholic introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- artistic creation
- therapy
- relationships

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology poetics

Questions to Reflect On

- How does recognizing fragility change our interactions?
- Can intense feeling be a source of strength?

A Different Perspective

May romanticize fragility, ignoring resilience.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fragility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragility/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Intense Fragility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-fragility-1418522/) [Perceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive/) [Perceive World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive-world/) [Power Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-intense-1418523/) [Small hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-hands/) [This world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility:whose texture compels me with the colour of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this-world-equals-the-power-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Of course! The path to heaven doesn't lie down in flat miles. It's in the imagination with which you perceive this world, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/of-course-the-path-to-heaven-doesn-t-lie-down-in-flat-miles-it-s-in/)

[Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/)

> [There is only one reality - the reality knowable to reason. And if man does not choose to perceive it, there is nothing else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/there-is-only-one-reality-the-reality-knowable-to-reason-and-if-man/)

[Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/)

> [So long as we perceive this world in motion, we have to conceive will behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/so-long-as-we-perceive-this-world-in-motion-we-have-to-conceive-will/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [I perceive the world through the wide range of emotions that whirl all around in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-archuleta/i-perceive-the-world-through-the-wide-range-of-emotions-that-whirl/)

[David Archuleta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-archuleta/)

> [I'm interested in such things as the difference between how we perceive the world and what the world turns out to be. The difference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-m-interested-in-such-things-as-the-difference-between-how-we/)

[Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/)

> [ Randy \[ Rhoads\] had small hands. Boy, could he play guitar. He became an even better guitar player after he died. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy-kilmister/randy-rhoads-had-small-hands-boy-could-he-play-guitar-he-became-an/)

[Lemmy Kilmister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy-kilmister/)

> [“somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond any experience, your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings-2/somewhere-i-have-never-travelled-gladly-beyond-any-experience-your/)

[E.E. Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings-2/)

> [What do we look for as reward? Some little sounds, and scents, and scenes A small hand darting strawberry-ward A woman's aprons full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-pitter/what-do-we-look-for-as-reward-some-little-sounds-and-scents-and/)

[Ruth Pitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-pitter/)

> [Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/such-is-of-the-course-of-deeds-that-move-the-wheels-of-the-world/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [That great brow And the spirit-small hand propping it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/that-great-brow-and-the-spirit-small-hand-propping-it/)

[Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/)

> [“If I should have a daughter…“Instead of “Mom”, she’s gonna call me “Point B.” Because that way, she knows that no matter what happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/if-i-should-have-a-daughter-instead-of-mom-she-s-gonna-call-me-point/)

[Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/)

> [Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/thy-infinite-gifts-come-to-me-only-on-these-very-small-hands-of-mine/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [I stuck with that size because I could bend the strings so well, and somewhere along the line I must have gotten it into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fogerty/i-stuck-with-that-size-because-i-could-bend-the-strings-so-well-and/)

[John Fogerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fogerty/)

> [Small hands can handle a pen better. Lend your support to abolish child labor!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kishore-bansal/small-hands-can-handle-a-pen-better-lend-your-support-to-abolish/)

[Kishore Bansal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kishore-bansal/)

## More by e. e. cummings

> [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [“I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-d-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-teach-ten-thousand/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works. Jacques Barzun, 1959 all ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-intellectuals-chief-cause-of-anguish-are-one-another-s-works/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [There is no music unless the drum and the drummer are one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/there-is-no-music-unless-the-drum-and-the-drummer-are-one/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [“...for life's not a paragraph/ and death, i think, is no parenthesis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/for-life-s-not-a-paragraph-and-death-i-think-is-no-parenthesis/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [The symbol of all art is the Prism. The goal is unrealism. The method is destructive. To break up the white light of objective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-symbol-of-all-art-is-the-prism-the-goal-is-unrealism-the-method/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [All ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/all-ignorance-toboggans-into-know-and-trudges-up-to-ignorance-again/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [So far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-poetry-and-every-other-art-was-and-is-and/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [it's spring when the world is puddle-wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/it-s-spring-when-the-world-is-puddle-wonderful/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Women and men(both little and small) cared for anyone not at all they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same sun moon stars rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/women-and-men-both-little-and-small-cared-for-anyone-not-at-all-they/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [O to be in finland/ now that russia's here)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/o-to-be-in-finland-now-that-russia-s-here/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [wholly to be a fool while Spring is in the world my blood approves, and kisses are a far better fate than wisdom lady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/wholly-to-be-a-fool-while-spring-is-in-the-world-my-blood-approves-2/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Art is a mystery. A mystery is something immeasurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/art-is-a-mystery-a-mystery-is-something-immeasurable/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [one day anyone died i guess (and noone stooped to kiss his face) busy folk buried them side by side little by little and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/one-day-anyone-died-i-guess-and-noone-stooped-to-kiss-his-face-busy/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [“sweet spring is your time is my time is our time for springtime is lovetime and viva sweet love (all the merry little birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/sweet-spring-is-your-time-is-my-time-is-our-time-for-springtime-is/)

[E. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

[Explore all 159 e. e. cummings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

## More Fragility quotes

> [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/)

[John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/)

> [“Two people who live their lives alone in rooms doing strange, gentle things can sometimes be together in the middle of a dangerous storm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-hunt/two-people-who-live-their-lives-alone-in-rooms-doing-strange-gentle/)

[Samantha Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-hunt/)

> [“Our limited data force a sense of historical fragility: even as I nurture interpretation, I continually run the risk of creating it in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-s-smith/our-limited-data-force-a-sense-of-historical-fragility-even-as-i/)

[Mark S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-s-smith/)

> [“Those mornings were fragile things — like flowers blooming in the middle of a battlefield. She hadn’t realized then that the soil beneath them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-sn/those-mornings-were-fragile-things-like-flowers-blooming-in-the/)

[Maggie Sn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-sn/)

> [The scariest time of my life was when I knew my Nana was dying. It was horrible, as there's nothing I could do to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sanderson/the-scariest-time-of-my-life-was-when-i-knew-my-nana-was-dying-it-was/)

[Nikki Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sanderson/)

> [In 1966 Rolf Edberg wrote "This is mankind's home", "in the narrow borderland between the deathly heat beneath our feet and the coldness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-wallstrom/in-1966-rolf-edberg-wrote-this-is-mankind-s-home-in-the-narrow/)

[Margot Wallstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-wallstrom/)

> [Each person is sacred, no matter what his or her culture, religion, handicap, or fragility. Each person is created in God’s image; each one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/each-person-is-sacred-no-matter-what-his-or-her-culture-religion/)

[Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/)

> [Not childhood alone, but the young man till thirty, never feels practically that he is mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/not-childhood-alone-but-the-young-man-till-thirty-never-feels/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [Face, to me, is a metaphor of sadness. And I want to share this sadness. I'm not really interested whether it's an Indian face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-gonzalez/face-to-me-is-a-metaphor-of-sadness-and-i-want-to-share-this-sadness/)

[Luis Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-gonzalez/)

> [There is a strand of self-absorption and fragility running through this generation; all too ready to cry 'victim' at the first hint of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-fox/there-is-a-strand-of-self-absorption-and-fragility-running-through/)

[Claire Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-fox/)

> [I am completely tied up with softness, fragility, and the problems of a feminine world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-bassman/i-am-completely-tied-up-with-softness-fragility-and-the-problems-of-a/)

[Lillian Bassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-bassman/)

> [“We, like lace, make up the very fabric of society, the tapestry of togetherness that consists of holes, but also of threads that tie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayla-severson/we-like-lace-make-up-the-very-fabric-of-society-the-tapestry-of/)

[Kayla Severson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayla-severson/)

> [What’s insidious about the fear of what others will say is that you rarely hear them say it. You imagine what they’d say. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-jarvis/what-s-insidious-about-the-fear-of-what-others-will-say-is-that-you/)

[Jeff Jarvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-jarvis/)

> [“They sit here in the darkness, trusting. That the coffee will be hot and unpoisoned. That no raging madman will come in with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/they-sit-here-in-the-darkness-trusting-that-the-coffee-will-be-hot/)

[Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/)

> [We, as extremely complex creatures, desperately need to know this story of how the universe creates complexity and why complexity means vulnerability and fragility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/we-as-extremely-complex-creatures-desperately-need-to-know-this-story/)

[David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/)

[Browse all 175 Fragility quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragility/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "e. e. cummings"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this-world-equals-the-power-of-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fragility"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this-world-equals-the-power-of-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/e-e-cummings-2586_fragility_nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this_2539341.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/e-e-cummings-2586_fragility_nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this_2539341.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/e-e-cummings-2586_fragility_nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this_2539341.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility” — e. e. cummings",
                "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": "e. e. cummings",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "nothing which we are to perceive...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this-world-equals-the-power-of-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/nothing-which-we-are-to-perceive-in-this-world-equals-the-power-of-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
