--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To ascend, to stretch a hand up the…" description: "\"“To ascend, to stretch a hand up the mountainside until a hand catches it, was the end for which he had been born.”\" — E M Forster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/e-m-forster-3-48717_ascend_to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mount_451496.jpg" --- # To ascend, to stretch a hand up the mountainside until a… ![“To ascend, to stretch a hand up the mountainside until a hand catches it, was the end for which he had been born.” quote by E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/e-m-forster-3-48717_ascend_to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mount_451496.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/e-m-forster-3-48717_ascend_to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mount_451496.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/e-m-forster-3-48717_ascend_to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mount_451496.jpg) > ““To ascend, to stretch a hand up the mountainside until a hand catches it, was the end for which he had been born.”” [E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One's purpose is fulfilled by reaching out for help, symbolizing that striving and connection define existence. **In simple terms:** Seeking help defines purpose. Key Takeaway Reach out and accept assistance. Themes purpose connection growth Mood inspirational reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career challenges - personal crises - creative projects - health struggles Key Concepts interdependence humanism existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - When did you need a helping hand? - How does seeking help shape your identity? A Different Perspective Overreliance on others may limit self-reliance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ascend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascend/) [Ascend Stretch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascend-stretch-3940182/) [End Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-born-3602785/) [Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forster/) [Hand Mountainside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hand-mountainside-3940180/) [Maurice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maurice/) [Maurice-novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maurice-novel-119090/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Mountainside Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountainside-hand-3940181/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) ## Related quotes > [“Begun 1913 Finished 1914 Dedicated to a Happier Year”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/begun-1913-finished-1914-dedicated-to-a-happier-year/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [You weren't born just to live and to die, you were born to accomplish something specifically... Success is making it to the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe-2/you-weren-t-born-just-to-live-and-to-die-you-were-born-to-accomplish/) [Myles Munroeâ¬](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe-2/) > [Worry about NOBODY, but MYSELF cause at the end I was born alone, so I stand alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worry-about-nobody-but-myself-cause-at-the-end-i-was-born-alone-so-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was determined that in fiction anyway two men should fall in love and remain in it for the ever and ever that fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-was-determined-that-in-fiction-anyway-two-men-should-fall-in-love/) [E.M. 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It wasn't his middle name (that would be 'Morgan'), but it was his orientation, his romping pleasure, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-levenson/so-he-was-queer-e-m-forster-it-wasn-t-his-middle-name-that-would-be/) [Michael Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-levenson/) > [“In order to avoid this bitter end, we would all have to be born again, and born with the knowledge of alternatives. Even then?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/in-order-to-avoid-this-bitter-end-we-would-all-have-to-be-born-again/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“At times he entertained the dream. Two men can defy the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/at-times-he-entertained-the-dream-two-men-can-defy-the-world/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He longed for smut, but heard little and contributed less, and his chief indecencies were solitary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-longed-for-smut-but-heard-little-and-contributed-less-and-his/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“I should have gone through life half awake if you'd had the decency to leave me alone. Awake intellectually, yes, and emotionally in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-should-have-gone-through-life-half-awake-if-you-d-had-the-decency/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He was not sure, but liked it. It recurred when they met suddenly or had been silent. It beckoned to him across intellect, saying,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-was-not-sure-but-liked-it-it-recurred-when-they-met-suddenly-or/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“The night before, Belle had stayed up past her bedtime, making a few changes to her doll with her father's tools. She couldn't help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/random-house-disney/the-night-before-belle-had-stayed-up-past-her-bedtime-making-a-few/) [Random House Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/random-house-disney/) > [“A trouble - nothing as beautiful as a sorrow - rose to the surface of his mind, displayed its ungainliness and sank. Its precise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-morgan-forster/a-trouble-nothing-as-beautiful-as-a-sorrow-rose-to-the-surface-of-his/) [Edward Morgan Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-morgan-forster/) ## More by E M Forster > [ I have been racking my brains and can find no reply \[to\] this very reasonable question. I can only suggest that the fictional part… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/i-have-been-racking-my-brains-and-can-find-no-reply-to-this-very/) [E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) > [“I don't intend him, or any man or any woman, to be all my life - good heavens, no! There are heaps of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/i-don-t-intend-him-or-any-man-or-any-woman-to-be-all-my-life-good/) [E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) > [“As I said, either friends or the country, some . . . either some very dear person or some very dear place seems necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/as-i-said-either-friends-or-the-country-some-either-some-very-dear/) [E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) > [It is a mistake to think that books have come to stay. The human race did without them for thousands of years and may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-that-books-have-come-to-stay-the-human-race/) [E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) > [“And if insight were sufficient, if the inner life were the whole of life, their happiness has been assured.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/and-if-insight-were-sufficient-if-the-inner-life-were-the-whole-of/) [E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) > [“The sense of purity is a puzzling, and at times a fearful thing. It seems so noble, and it starts at one with morality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/the-sense-of-purity-is-a-puzzling-and-at-times-a-fearful-thing-it/) [E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) > [No man can be an agnostic who has a sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/no-man-can-be-an-agnostic-who-has-a-sense-of-humor/) [E M Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) [Explore all 8 E M Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/) ## More Ascend quotes > [Life must be lived on a higher plane. We must go up to a higher platform, to which we are always invited to ascend;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-must-be-lived-on-a-higher-plane-we-must-go-up-to-a-higher/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“This hill, though high, I covet to ascend; The difficulty will not me offend. For I perceive the way to life lies here. Come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/this-hill-though-high-i-covet-to-ascend-the-difficulty-will-not-me/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Heaven...a place where there is neither sufferings, sadness nor separation... Now we climb the stairways to heaven one step by one step and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stairway-to-heaven/heaven-a-place-where-there-is-neither-sufferings-sadness-nor/) [Stairway To Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stairway-to-heaven/) > [“The hill, though high, I desire to ascend, The difficulty will not me offend; For Iperceive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-hill-though-high-i-desire-to-ascend-the-difficulty-will-not-me/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Unless and until you are detached, you cannot ascend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/unless-and-until-you-are-detached-you-cannot-ascend/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [In contemplation of created things, by steps we may ascend to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/in-contemplation-of-created-things-by-steps-we-may-ascend-to-god/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [It is a mystic maxim that the lower in the scale of evolution a being is placed, the more certainly it responds to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/it-is-a-mystic-maxim-that-the-lower-in-the-scale-of-evolution-a-being/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [“you choose to push through this often painful process of personal evolution, you will naturally “ascend” to higher and higher levels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/you-choose-to-push-through-this-often-painful-process-of-personal/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [Only your ascent is important. Once you ascend, everything is saved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/only-your-ascent-is-important-once-you-ascend-everything-is-saved/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [“It seemed like you had your tongue down his throat" Finn glared at us both. "Well,then,everything is exactly as it seems." Loki said glibly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/it-seemed-like-you-had-your-tongue-down-his-throat-finn-glared-at-us/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [If you want to ascend like the Prophet to the sky of immortality, know this very well: Fasting is your Arabian stallion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-you-want-to-ascend-like-the-prophet-to-the-sky-of-immortality-know/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“That's the other thing I'll carry with me when I ascend, the experience of loving you with my whole being, beyond reason and measure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-corp/that-s-the-other-thing-i-ll-carry-with-me-when-i-ascend-the/) [Carey Corp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-corp/) > [“Good morning, good morning, good morning," Loki chirped, wheeling in a table covered with silver domes. "What are you doing?" I asked, squinting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/good-morning-good-morning-good-morning-loki-chirped-wheeling-in-a/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [“But such is the greased pole of Silicon Valley fame and power; anyone can try to ascend, but nothing will arrest your fall.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-garcia-martinez/but-such-is-the-greased-pole-of-silicon-valley-fame-and-power-anyone/) [Antonio Garcia Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-garcia-martinez/) > [Thee lift me, and I lift thee, and together we ascend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/thee-lift-me-and-i-lift-thee-and-together-we-ascend/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) [Browse all 35 Ascend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ascend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To ascend, to stretch a hand up the mountainside until a hand catches it, was the end for which he had been born.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E M Forster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mountainside-until-a-hand-catches/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ascend" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mountainside-until-a-hand-catches/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/e-m-forster-3-48717_ascend_to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mount_451496.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/e-m-forster-3-48717_ascend_to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mount_451496.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/e-m-forster-3-48717_ascend_to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mount_451496.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To ascend, to stretch a hand up the mountainside until a hand catches it, was the end for which he had been…” — E M Forster", "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 M Forster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-3/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“To ascend, to stretch a hand...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mountainside-until-a-hand-catches/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-3/to-ascend-to-stretch-a-hand-up-the-mountainside-until-a-hand-catches/#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 } } ] } ```