--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Proust again: One can only wish that a…" description: "\"Proust again: One can only wish that a man with such powers of total recall had led a less tedious life, moved among somewhat livelier circles…\" — Edwa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/edward-abbey-254_circles_proust-again-one-can-only-wish-that-a-ma_2098538.png" --- # Proust again: One can only wish that a man with such… ![“Proust again: One can only wish that a man with such powers of total recall had led a less tedious life, moved among somewhat livelier circles…” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/edward-abbey-254_circles_proust-again-one-can-only-wish-that-a-ma_2098538.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/edward-abbey-254_circles_proust-again-one-can-only-wish-that-a-ma_2098538.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dc/edward-abbey-254_circles_proust-again-one-can-only-wish-that-a-ma_2098538.png) > “Proust again: One can only wish that a man with such powers of total recall had led a less tedious life, moved among somewhat livelier circles…” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man with perfect memory lives a dull, isolated life, yearning for more vibrant social circles. **In simple terms:** Perfect recall can be burdensome without lively company. Key Takeaway Seek enriching relationships. Themes memory loneliness social life Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career networking - creative collaborations - social clubs - community events Key Concepts existential reflection personal fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - How does social vibrancy affect personal fulfillment? - Can memory alone bring happiness? A Different Perspective Even with great memory, meaning still requires connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moved/) [Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proust/) [Proust Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proust-wish-4182363/) [Recalls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recalls/) [Somewhat Livelier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somewhat-livelier-4182364/) [Tedious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tedious/) [Tedious Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tedious-life-315240/) [Total recall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/total-recall/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [“If you could only see your face, your gestures! Oh, how tedious your life must be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-you-could-only-see-your-face-your-gestures-oh-how-tedious-your/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [It is not that Shakespeare's art is in technicolor and fancy, and that real life is black and white and tedious. The life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/it-is-not-that-shakespeare-s-art-is-in-technicolor-and-fancy-and-that/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [Let other mortals vainly wear, A tedious life in anxious care; Let the ambitious toil and think, Let states or empires swim or sink;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-other-mortals-vainly-wear-a-tedious-life-in-anxious-care-let-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was well aware of that when I heard they were remaking 'Total Recall.' My first reaction was: 'Ewww, really okay?' And the director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/i-was-well-aware-of-that-when-i-heard-they-were-remaking-total-recall/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [“Hickock whistled and rolled his eyes. "Wow!" he said, and then, summoning his talent for something very like total recall, he began an account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/hickock-whistled-and-rolled-his-eyes-wow-he-said-and-then-summoning/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [I think there were six or eight weeks between 'Total Recall' and 'Seven Psychopaths.' I was at home in Los Angeles for 'Seven Psychopaths,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/i-think-there-were-six-or-eight-weeks-between-total-recall-and-seven/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [I had made a list of about ten things that I remembered from the original 'Total Recall' before I went back and watched. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-wiseman/i-had-made-a-list-of-about-ten-things-that-i-remembered-from-the/) [Len Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-wiseman/) > [I have total recall. I remember being born. I remember being in the womb, I remember being inside. Coming out was great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-have-total-recall-i-remember-being-born-i-remember-being-in-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [ The three-breasted woman was very much at the top of my list in \[original 'Total recall'\]. Like I said, I was fourteen! I remember… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-wiseman/the-three-breasted-woman-was-very-much-at-the-top-of-my-list-in/) [Len Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-wiseman/) > [ On "\[Total\] Recall" also \[sets were extraordinary\], but this was next-level. They built two or three blocks of midtown Manhattan in 1926 and it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/on-total-recall-also-sets-were-extraordinary-but-this-was-next-level/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [There are people on the ratings board and so froth who don't want certain scenes in the film. There are people who come up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/there-are-people-on-the-ratings-board-and-so-froth-who-don-t-want/) [Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/) > [I count 'Underworld 4' as my training period for 'Total Recall.' I do think it was hard because I didn't realize how tired I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/i-count-underworld-4-as-my-training-period-for-total-recall-i-do/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [Quite often on a movie like Total Recall you have this training period of two or three months where, like on the first 'Underworld'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/quite-often-on-a-movie-like-total-recall-you-have-this-training/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [“Nabokov complained he was afflicted with total recall, an affliction of which he could be miraculously cured by the presence of a biographer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/nabokov-complained-he-was-afflicted-with-total-recall-an-affliction/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [The only good Philip K. Dick film is 'Total Recall.' It's faithful to the book. Arnie gets it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-e-smith/the-only-good-philip-k-dick-film-is-total-recall-it-s-faithful-to-the/) [Mark E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-e-smith/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Circles quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. 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