Desire Quote by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
““It was a something found that had long been sought for by a thousand restless yearnings and vague desires, less of the heart than mind; not as when youth discovers the one to be beloved, but rather as when the student, long wandering after the clew to some truth in science, sees it glimmer dimly before him, to beckon, to recede, to allure, and to wane again. She fell at last into unquiet slumber, vexed by deformed, fleeting, shapeless phantoms; and, waking, as the sun, through a veil of hazy cloud, glinted with a sickly ray across the casement, she heard her father settled back betimes to his one pursuit, and calling forth from his Familiar a low mournful strain, like a dirge over the dead.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Last Days of Pompeii, 1834
A profound, fleeting insight appears, then recedes, leaving the seeker restless and haunted by elusive visions.
In simple terms: A brief, elusive insight leaves the seeker unsettled.
Key Takeaway
Embrace the search, but accept impermanence.
Themes
search
insight
longing
illusion
Mood
melancholic
reflective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- academic research
- creative writing
- personal introspection
- spiritual quest
Key Concepts
philosophy
epistemology
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the fleeting insight represent for you?
- How can you balance yearning with acceptance?
A Different Perspective
The insight may be a mirage, leading to false hope.
![“Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three [great teachers] did not tell - they catalyzed a burning desire to know. Under their influence, the horizons sprung wide and fear went away and the unknown became knowable. But most important of…” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/84c/john-steinbeck-71_art_teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-t_1738.jpg)
