Skip to content

Dystopian Quote by E.M. Forster

“They wept for humanity, those two, not for themselves. They could not bear that this should be the end. Ere silence was completed their hearts were opened, and they knew what had been important on the earth. Man, the flower of all flesh, the noblest of all creatures visible, man who had once made…” quote by E.M. Forster
Download Open image
““They wept for humanity, those two, not for themselves. They could not bear that this should be the end. Ere silence was completed their hearts were opened, and they knew what had been important on the earth. Man, the flower of all flesh, the noblest of all creatures visible, man who had once made god in his image, and had mirrored his strength on the constellations, beautiful naked man was dying, strangled in the garments that he had woven. Century after century had he toiled, and here was his reward. Truly the garment had seemed heavenly at first, shot with colours of culture, sewn with the threads of self-denial. And heavenly it had been so long as man could shed it at will and live by the essence that is his soul, and the essence, equally divine, that is his body. The sin against the body - it was for that they wept in chief; the centuries of wrong against the muscles and the nerves, and those five portals by which we can alone apprehend - glozing it over with talk of evolution, until the body was white pap, the home of ideas as colourless, last sloshy stirrings of a spirit that had grasped the stars. ””

E.M. Forster

About This Quote

Source Novel: A Passage to India, 1924

The passage mourns humanity’s loss of connection to its physical and spiritual essence, seeing cultural constraints as a suffocating garment that obscures true vitality.

In simple terms: Humanity mourns losing its physical and spiritual core under cultural constraints.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and honor both body and spirit.

Themes

humanity spirituality culture body death

Mood

melancholic reflective somber

Type

literary philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

  • personal reflection
  • art criticism
  • philosophical essay
  • cultural analysis

Key Concepts

existentialism humanism dualism

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do cultural practices shape our sense of self?
  • Can we balance body and spirit without rejecting culture?
A Different Perspective

The metaphor may overemphasize negativity and ignore cultural benefits.

2.3 out of 5 (3 ratings)

More by E.M. Forster

Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes

More Dystopian quotes

Browse all 283 Dystopian quotes