---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What shadows we are, and what shadows we…"
description: "\"What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!\" — Edmund Burke"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/edmund-burke-400_life_what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we_566325.jpg"
---

#  What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!

![“What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/edmund-burke-400_life_what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we_566325.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/edmund-burke-400_life_what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we_566325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/edmund-burke-400_life_what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we_566325.jpg)

> “What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!”

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

## About This Quote

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

Human nature includes both inherent darkness and the pursuit of darker aspects, reflecting internal conflict.

**In simple terms:** We have dark sides and chase them.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and channel inner shadows construct

Themes

human nature morality inner conflict philosophy

Mood

thoughtful introspective philosophical

Type

reflection ethics

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- creative expression
- ethical decision‑making

Key Concepts

existentialism ethical dualism self‑awareness

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives the pursuit of darker impulses?
- How can we transform shadow aspects into growth?

A Different Perspective

Focusing on darkness may neglect positive potential.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows/)

## Related quotes

> [Even in art, there is no light without shadows, and no shadows are cast without some light. Even the shadow of Adolf Hitler is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-frank/even-in-art-there-is-no-light-without-shadows-and-no-shadows-are-cast/)

[Hans Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-frank/)

> [“Shadows   The shadows looming in the corners wore colors similar to bruises. No way of knowing when the darkness would end. Heart racing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennae-cecelia/shadows-the-shadows-looming-in-the-corners-wore-colors-similar-to/)

[Jennae Cecelia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennae-cecelia/)

> [Shadows in shadows He watches through dreams Wings black as Africa Body strong as stone Done waiting The ravens call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/shadows-in-shadows-he-watches-through-dreams-wings-black-as-africa/)

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

> [ “Behind everyone, there are at least two shadows. Some have even more. \[...\] The shadows on the ground are like folding fans. Looking at… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/can-xue/behind-everyone-there-are-at-least-two-shadows-some-have-even-more/)

Can Xue

> [Men throw huge shadows on the lawn, don't they? Then, all their lives, they try to run to fit the shadows. But the shadows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/men-throw-huge-shadows-on-the-lawn-don-t-they-then-all-their-lives/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [About shadows: do we see shadows? Loads of people don't. A camera will notice a shadow, but how many people have got a shadow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/about-shadows-do-we-see-shadows-loads-of-people-don-t-a-camera-will/)

[David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/)

> [What shadows we are, what shadows wepursue!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-shadows-we-are-what-shadows-wepursue/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [There are only shades of gray. Black and white are nothing more than lofty ideals in our minds, the standards by which we try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/there-are-only-shades-of-gray-black-and-white-are-nothing-more-than/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [“There is light in the shadow just as there is shadow in the light and although many disclaim these shadows as everything unpleasant in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kensi-brianne-smith/there-is-light-in-the-shadow-just-as-there-is-shadow-in-the-light-and/)

Kensi Brianne Smith

> [The sun was trembling on the brink of the world, the shadows at their longest, and they still had several kilometers to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/the-sun-was-trembling-on-the-brink-of-the-world-the-shadows-at-their/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [“Never be disappointed and never lose your hope and fortitude when all that you see around is only shadows. Because if there are shadows, there must also be sources of light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giannis-delimitsos/never-be-disappointed-and-never-lose-your-hope-and-fortitude-when-all/)

[Giannis Delimitsos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giannis-delimitsos/)

> [“The Shadows this, the Shadows that—I’d asked Charles about them once, when our breaks had overlapped…But Charles said “they” (complete with scare quotes) lurked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassie-alexander/the-shadows-this-the-shadows-that-i-d-asked-charles-about-them-once/)

[Cassie Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassie-alexander/)

> [There are shadows for the shadows of things, as a reflection seen in a mirror of a mirror. We know there are circles within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/there-are-shadows-for-the-shadows-of-things-as-a-reflection-seen-in-a/)

[Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/)

> [...for human words are like shadows, and shadows are incapable of explaining light and between shadow and light there is the opaque body from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/for-human-words-are-like-shadows-and-shadows-are-incapable-of/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [“They see only their shadows, and their shadows are their laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/they-see-only-their-shadows-and-their-shadows-are-their-laws/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

## More by Edmund Burke

> [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [My vigour relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/my-vigour-relents-i-pardon-something-to-the-spirit-of-liberty/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [What is it we all seek for in an election? To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-is-it-we-all-seek-for-in-an-election-to-answer-its-real-purposes/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [You can never plan the future by the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/you-can-never-plan-the-future-by-the-past/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [The great inlet by which a colour for oppression has entered into the world is by one man's pretending to determine concerning the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-inlet-by-which-a-colour-for-oppression-has-entered-into-the/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [Religion, to have any force upon men's understandings,--indeed, to exist at all,--must be supposed paramount to law, and independent for its substance upon any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/religion-to-have-any-force-upon-men-s-understandings-indeed-to-exist/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

[Explore all 595 Edmund Burke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

## More Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

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

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

Deanna L. Lawlis

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

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

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Edmund Burke"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we-pursue/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we-pursue/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/edmund-burke-400_life_what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we_566325.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/edmund-burke-400_life_what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we_566325.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62d/edmund-burke-400_life_what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we_566325.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!” — Edmund Burke",
                "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": "Edmund Burke",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What shadows we are, and what...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we-pursue/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-shadows-we-are-and-what-shadows-we-pursue/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
