--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My pawing over the ancients and…" description: "\"“My pawing over the ancients and semi-ancients has been one struggle to find out what has been done, once and for all, better than it can ever be done ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/ezra-pound-1208_age_my-pawing-over-the-ancients-and-semi-anc_2455045.png" --- # My pawing over the ancients and semi-ancients has been one… ![“My pawing over the ancients and semi-ancients has been one struggle to find out what has been done, once and for all, better than it can ever be done again, and to find out what remains for us to do, and plenty does remain, for if we still feel the same emotions as those who launched a thousand…” quote by Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/ezra-pound-1208_age_my-pawing-over-the-ancients-and-semi-anc_2455045.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/ezra-pound-1208_age_my-pawing-over-the-ancients-and-semi-anc_2455045.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/ezra-pound-1208_age_my-pawing-over-the-ancients-and-semi-anc_2455045.png) > ““My pawing over the ancients and semi-ancients has been one struggle to find out what has been done, once and for all, better than it can ever be done again, and to find out what remains for us to do, and plenty does remain, for if we still feel the same emotions as those who launched a thousand ships, it is quite certain that we came on these feelings differently, through different nuances, by different intellectual gradations. Each age has its own abounding gifts yet only some ages transmute them into matters of duration.”” [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on humanity’s endless quest to improve upon past achievements, recognizing each era’s unique contributions and limits. **In simple terms:** Each age builds on past gifts but cannot fully repeat them. Key Takeaway Respect each era’s gifts while seeking progress. Themes history progress human ambition Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - art criticism - philosophical writing - historical analysis Key Concepts Cultural evolution intellectual growth Questions to Reflect On - What can we learn from past eras? - How do we honor past gifts while innovating? A Different Perspective We may never fully surpass past achievements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Ancients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancients/) [Ancients Semi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancients-semi-603357/) [Ancients Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancients-struggle-603358/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Duration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duration/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Nuance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuance/) [Plenty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plenty/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Semi Ancients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semi-ancients-603356/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) ## Related quotes > [“Et peut-être la posterité me saura gré de lui avoir fait connaître que les Anciens n’ont pas tout su. ( And perhaps, posterity will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-fermat/et-peut-tre-la-posterit-me-saura-gr-de-lui-avoir-fait-conna-tre-que/) [Pierre De Fermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-fermat/) > [Nothing truly convincing - which would possess thoroughness, vigor, and skill - has been written against the ancients as yet; especially not against their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/nothing-truly-convincing-which-would-possess-thoroughness-vigor-and/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [The finest and most beautiful ideas on morals and manners have been swept away before our times, and nothing is left for us but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-finest-and-most-beautiful-ideas-on-morals-and-manners-have-been/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [We could learn a lot from the ancients, and we should go back there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/we-could-learn-a-lot-from-the-ancients-and-we-should-go-back-there/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [Some are so very studious of learning what was done by the ancients that they know not how to live with the moderns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/some-are-so-very-studious-of-learning-what-was-done-by-the-ancients/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [The ancients had a term in the mystical tradition called the Akashic Records, which was suggestive that nature didn't lose it's experience, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/the-ancients-had-a-term-in-the-mystical-tradition-called-the-akashic/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Why must ancients, and provided the same talent, be better than modern authors? Free to exploit the vast realm of the simpleand the natural,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/why-must-ancients-and-provided-the-same-talent-be-better-than-modern/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom; I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-courbet/i-am-not-one-who-was-born-in-the-custody-of-wisdom-i-am-one-who-is/) [Gustave Courbet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-courbet/) > [“That is to say, when the ancients experienced gaps in their understanding of the world around them, they filled those gaps with God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/that-is-to-say-when-the-ancients-experienced-gaps-in-their/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Certainly it's a rare glimpse into the lives of the Secular Ancients. They don't seem as bad as the Dominion histories make them out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/certainly-it-s-a-rare-glimpse-into-the-lives-of-the-secular-ancients/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [“One makes a great error if one believes there are 'ancients.' Only now is antiquity starting to arise. It arises in the eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/one-makes-a-great-error-if-one-believes-there-are-ancients-only-now/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [The ancients said: Hulk to be whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-ancients-said-hulk-to-be-whole/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The ancients understood the regulation of power better than the regulation of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dahlberg/the-ancients-understood-the-regulation-of-power-better-than-the/) [Edward Dahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dahlberg/) > [And perhaps, posterity will thank me for having shown that the ancients did not know everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-fermat/and-perhaps-posterity-will-thank-me-for-having-shown-that-the/) [Pierre de Fermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-fermat/) > [By comparing what we know today with what the ancients appear to have known we can guess at the kinds of wine they drank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-waugh/by-comparing-what-we-know-today-with-what-the-ancients-appear-to-have/) [Alec Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-waugh/) ## More by Ezra Pound > [“I once saw a small child go to an electric light switch as say, "Mamma, can I open the light?" She was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-once-saw-a-small-child-go-to-an-electric-light-switch-as-say-mamma/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/a-great-age-of-literature-is-perhaps-always-a-great-age-of/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Poets who are not interested in music are, or become, bad poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/poets-who-are-not-interested-in-music-are-or-become-bad-poets/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/anyone-who-is-too-lazy-to-master-the-comparatively-small-glossary/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [where the dead walked and the living were made of cardboard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/where-the-dead-walked-and-the-living-were-made-of-cardboard/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Liberty is not a right but a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/liberty-is-not-a-right-but-a-duty/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The artist is always beginning. Any work of art which is not a beginning, an invention, a discovery is of little worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-artist-is-always-beginning-any-work-of-art-which-is-not-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/any-general-statement-is-like-a-cheque-drawn-on-a-bank-its-value/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In case I conk out, this is provisionally what I have to do: I must clarify obscurities; I must make clearer definite ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/in-case-i-conk-out-this-is-provisionally-what-i-have-to-do-i-must/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Adolf Hitler was a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint. He was a martyr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/adolf-hitler-was-a-jeanne-d-arc-a-saint-he-was-a-martyr/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I could I trust starve like a gentleman. It's listed as part of the poetic training, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-could-i-trust-starve-like-a-gentleman-it-s-listed-as-part-of-the/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) [Explore all 273 Ezra Pound quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My pawing over the ancients and semi-ancients has been one struggle to find out what has been done, once and for all, better than it can ever be done again, and to find out what remains for us to do, and plenty does remain, for if we still feel the same emotions as those who launched a thousand ships, it is quite certain that we came on these feelings differently, through different nuances, by different intellectual gradations. 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