--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your wits can't thicken in that soft…" description: "\"Your wits can't thicken in that soft moist air, on those white springy roads, in those misty rushes and brown bogs, on those hillsides of granite rocks..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/george-bernard-shaw-68_air_your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moi_2150483.jpg" --- # Your wits can't thicken in that soft moist air, on those… ![“Your wits can't thicken in that soft moist air, on those white springy roads, in those misty rushes and brown bogs, on those hillsides of granite rocks and magenta heather. You've no such colours in the sky, no such lure in the distances, no such sadness in the evenings. Oh the dreaming! the…” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/george-bernard-shaw-68_air_your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moi_2150483.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/george-bernard-shaw-68_air_your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moi_2150483.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/george-bernard-shaw-68_air_your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moi_2150483.jpg) > “Your wits can't thicken in that soft moist air, on those white springy roads, in those misty rushes and brown bogs, on those hillsides of granite rocks and magenta heather. You've no such colours in the sky, no such lure in the distances, no such sadness in the evenings. Oh the dreaming! the dreaming! the torturing, heart-scalding, never satisfying dreaming, dreaming, dreaming, dreaming!” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage poetically describes a yearning for vivid, intense experiences, contrasting them with the drab, unsatisfying reality of everyday life and unfulfilled dreams. **In simple terms:** Dreams crave vividness; reality feels dull. Key Takeaway Seek richer, more meaningful experiences. Themes creativity existentialism artistic longing Mood melancholic hopeful introspective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - Travel writing - creative workshops - mindfulness retreats - artistic projects Key Concepts Aestheticism psychology of desire literary imagination Questions to Reflect On - How can we find depth in daily life? - What balances dream and reality? A Different Perspective The longing for intensity may overlook the value of ordinary moments and lead to perpetual dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaming/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Magenta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magenta/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Satisfying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfying/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [Oh I'm dreaming of a white christmas. With every christmas card I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-belsante/oh-i-m-dreaming-of-a-white-christmas-with-every-christmas-card-i-write/) [Matt Belsante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-belsante/) > [I will keep calling you to see, If you're sleeping, are you dreaming. If you're dreaming, are you dreaming of me? I can't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blue-october/i-will-keep-calling-you-to-see-if-you-re-sleeping-are-you-dreaming-if/) [Blue October](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blue-october/) > [Lucid dreaming is dreaming but you being aware that you're doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juice-wrld/lucid-dreaming-is-dreaming-but-you-being-aware-that-you-re-doing-it/) [Juice Wrld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juice-wrld/) > [“I spend the day by myself, just walking. Walking around town looking in windows filled with pretty things. They call it window shopping. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/i-spend-the-day-by-myself-just-walking-walking-around-town-looking-in/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [Dream of a brighter life, to smile sweetly dreaming, and dreaming of you prove that the dream was real and alive for those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regha-hanif-malik-fajar-s/dream-of-a-brighter-life-to-smile-sweetly-dreaming-and-dreaming-of/) [Regha Hanif Malik Fajar's](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regha-hanif-malik-fajar-s/) > [“Now she imagines him dreaming. She imagines him dreaming of her, as she is dreaming of him. Through a sky the color of wet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/now-she-imagines-him-dreaming-she-imagines-him-dreaming-of-her-as-she/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Dream ... Dream.. Dream.. But there are two types of dreaming. One-Dreaming at a better living. Two-Dreaming for a better living. Now you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeesh/dream-dream-dream-but-there-are-two-types-of-dreaming-one-dreaming-at/) Pradeesh > [If you're wondering if you're dreaming, you're dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-vos-savant/if-you-re-wondering-if-you-re-dreaming-you-re-dreaming/) [Marilyn vos Savant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-vos-savant/) > [Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming -- weren't our dreams what gave us strength, hope, and desire?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/dreaming-dreaming-dreaming-weren-t-our-dreams-what-gave-us-strength/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [“Closing her eyes, she began to let herself dream. Not sleep dreaming, but dreaming of how her life might be. It was a thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kent-krueger/closing-her-eyes-she-began-to-let-herself-dream-not-sleep-dreaming/) [William Kent Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kent-krueger/) > [I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming out loud. I'm searching the missing part of my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-maya/i-m-dreaming-i-m-dreaming-out-loud-i-m-searching-the-missing-part-of/) [Edward Maya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-maya/) > [“FALLING IN LOVE WITH OCTOBER Leaves descending to the ground, Orange, magenta, green & brown The cool crisp breezes in the air, Autumn season…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/falling-in-love-with-october-leaves-descending-to-the-ground-orange/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [“The bougainvillea hung about it, purple and magenta, in livid balloons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-desai/the-bougainvillea-hung-about-it-purple-and-magenta-in-livid-balloons/) [Anita Desai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-desai/) > [“Progress is not alone a matter of technology.” ―C.Drying, Contingent Upon Magenta”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-drying/progress-is-not-alone-a-matter-of-technology-c-drying-contingent-upon/) C.Drying > [When I told people that I was going to paint the big room magenta, many people thought that I was crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/when-i-told-people-that-i-was-going-to-paint-the-big-room-magenta/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Your wits can't thicken in that soft moist air, on those white springy roads, in those misty rushes and brown bogs, on those hillsides of granite rocks and magenta heather. You've no such colours in the sky, no such lure in the distances, no such sadness in the evenings. Oh the dreaming! the dreaming! the torturing, heart-scalding, never satisfying dreaming, dreaming, dreaming, dreaming!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moist-air-on-those-white-springy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moist-air-on-those-white-springy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/george-bernard-shaw-68_air_your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moi_2150483.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/george-bernard-shaw-68_air_your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moi_2150483.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/492/george-bernard-shaw-68_air_your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moi_2150483.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Your wits can't thicken in that soft moist air, on those white springy roads, in those misty rushes and…” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Your wits can't thicken in that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moist-air-on-those-white-springy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/your-wits-can-t-thicken-in-that-soft-moist-air-on-those-white-springy/#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 } } ] } ```