--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now they came, spectres in mourning…" description: "\"“Now they came, spectres in mourning, humbling themselves, ghosts, their eyes the only points of brightness. It was harrowing: a long cortege of shadow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/georges-rodenbach-9570_penitence_now-they-came-spectres-in-mourning-humbl_2494145.jpg" --- # Now they came, spectres in mourning, humbling themselves… ![“Now they came, spectres in mourning, humbling themselves, ghosts, their eyes the only points of brightness. It was harrowing: a long cortege of shadows. This time silence had come flooding in. Not a sound, not a cry. A silence all the more sinister for being black. There is the white silence of…” quote by Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/georges-rodenbach-9570_penitence_now-they-came-spectres-in-mourning-humbl_2494145.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/georges-rodenbach-9570_penitence_now-they-came-spectres-in-mourning-humbl_2494145.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/georges-rodenbach-9570_penitence_now-they-came-spectres-in-mourning-humbl_2494145.jpg) > ““Now they came, spectres in mourning, humbling themselves, ghosts, their eyes the only points of brightness. It was harrowing: a long cortege of shadows. This time silence had come flooding in. Not a sound, not a cry. A silence all the more sinister for being black. There is the white silence of the Beguines' workrooms; it is sweet. Here was a black silence that strikes terror to the heart, slipping past like water, as full of pitfalls as the night. At first all that could be made out was a tangle of crosses, all the raised arms of the crosses of a graveyard. All with their dead.”” [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid description of contrasting silences—white, sweet silence of workrooms versus black, terrifying silence of mourning—evoking dread and the unknown. **In simple terms:** Contrasting comforting and terrifying silences. Key Takeaway Recognize how silence can both soothe and frighten. Themes death silence terror contrast Mood haunting reflective Type poetic descriptive When to use this quote - grief rituals - nighttime reflections - artistic description Key Concepts psychology of fear ambient atmosphere symbolic darkness Questions to Reflect On - How does silence affect your emotional state? - When have you found silence comforting? A Different Perspective Silence can also be a space for healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Penitence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penitence/) [Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [I expect a black silence that is almost as violent as laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-expect-a-black-silence-that-is-almost-as-violent-as-laughter/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I was in the black silence of a medieval street, and blindly I followed its sharp turns, comforted by the height of its narrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-was-in-the-black-silence-of-a-medieval-street-and-blindly-i/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Penitence is nothing but a form of self-indulgence. Some things you cannot wash from your hands, and there’s no use in trying.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-keyes/penitence-is-nothing-but-a-form-of-self-indulgence-some-things-you/) [Greg Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-keyes/) > [He prays best who, not asking God to do man's work, prays penitence, prays resolutions, and then prays deeds--thus supplicating with heart and head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-man-s-work-prays-penitence/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [True penitence condemns to silence. What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley/true-penitence-condemns-to-silence-what-a-man-is-ready-to-recall-he/) [F. H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-bradley/) > [Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/prayer-in-the-sense-of-petition-asking-for-things-is-a-small-part-of/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“It was a long week of penitence and fasting, during which there were no card games and no music that might lead to lust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/it-was-a-long-week-of-penitence-and-fasting-during-which-there-were/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Virtue and vice are both prophets; the first, of certain good; the second, of pain or else of penitence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-venning/virtue-and-vice-are-both-prophets-the-first-of-certain-good-the/) [Ralph Venning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-venning/) > [Prayer is the converse of the soul with God. Therein we manifest or express to Him our reverence, and love for His divine perfection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hodge/prayer-is-the-converse-of-the-soul-with-god-therein-we-manifest-or/) [Charles Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hodge/) > [There must be room for penitence to mend Life's broken chance; else noise of wars would unmake heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cary/there-must-be-room-for-penitence-to-mend-life-s-broken-chance-else/) [Alice Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cary/) > [The meaning of atonement is not to be found in our penitence evoked by the sight of Calvary, but rather in what God did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/the-meaning-of-atonement-is-not-to-be-found-in-our-penitence-evoked/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [Someone who is elated with wine speaks the truth on all subjects, even without meaning to. In the same way, anyone who is inebriated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-climacus/someone-who-is-elated-with-wine-speaks-the-truth-on-all-subjects-even/) [John Climacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-climacus/) > [Hail, high Excess especially in wine, To thee in worship do I bend the knee Who preach abstemiousness unto me My skull thy pulpit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hail-high-excess-especially-in-wine-to-thee-in-worship-do-i-bend-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“Some people in orthodox churches in Africa take poverty as a path that leads to heaven, making christianity look unattractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-people-in-orthodox-churches-in-africa-take-poverty-as-a-path/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [It's not my business to try and make God think like me... but to try, in prayer and penitence, to think like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/it-s-not-my-business-to-try-and-make-god-think-like-me-but-to-try-in/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) ## More by Georges Rodenbach > [“Mevr. Cadzand feared for her son who, with his responsive nature, as sensitive as a hothouse plant, was more exposed. Fortunately religion is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/mevr-cadzand-feared-for-her-son-who-with-his-responsive-nature-as/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“A great melancholy was hanging in the air, giving their love a more languid, more tender feeling. It was like the love one feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/a-great-melancholy-was-hanging-in-the-air-giving-their-love-a-more/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“Oh, the sudden change of perspective brought about by travel and absence! How different everything was here: the people in the streets, the houses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/oh-the-sudden-change-of-perspective-brought-about-by-travel-and/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“All lovers desire solitude in order to possess each other more completely. They create for each other a new universe inhabited by the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/all-lovers-desire-solitude-in-order-to-possess-each-other-more/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“Now Borluut was seeing it from close to. And to its very end, it seemed, from the way the line of the horizon merged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/now-borluut-was-seeing-it-from-close-to-and-to-its-very-end-it-seemed/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“He felt alone, prey to the tedium, to the dreariness of time, especially at the approach of twilight which, during those late-autumn days, came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/he-felt-alone-prey-to-the-tedium-to-the-dreariness-of-time-especially/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [Can there be anything more sad than a girl dying on the day of her first communion, in her new dress. A little bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/can-there-be-anything-more-sad-than-a-girl-dying-on-the-day-of-her/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“Dead towns are the Cathedrals of Silence. They, too, have their gargoyles, singular figures, exaggerated, dubious, set in high profile. They stand out from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/dead-towns-are-the-cathedrals-of-silence-they-too-have-their/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“Is it not strange how quickly one can become detached from everything? How empty life appears when one is close to death!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/is-it-not-strange-how-quickly-one-can-become-detached-from-everything/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“(We) fell out of love with life for having learnt too much of death. ("At School")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/we-fell-out-of-love-with-life-for-having-learnt-too-much-of-death-at/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“Does it not sometimes happen in life that our actions are solely for an enemy, so as to stand up to him, to confound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/does-it-not-sometimes-happen-in-life-that-our-actions-are-solely-for/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“That is the way it is, we always fall in love because of a detail, a nuance. It is a marker we set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/that-is-the-way-it-is-we-always-fall-in-love-because-of-a-detail-a/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“In Bruges he had carried out a work which was anonymous and brought no glory, but was seen as admirable once it had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/in-bruges-he-had-carried-out-a-work-which-was-anonymous-and-brought/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“—that exquisite sensual pleasure of collectors, who are a tactile species—”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/that-exquisite-sensual-pleasure-of-collectors-who-are-a-tactile/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) > [“The widower reviewed his past in a sunless light which was intensified by the greyness of the November twilight, whilst the bells subtly impregnated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rodenbach/the-widower-reviewed-his-past-in-a-sunless-light-which-was/) [Georges Rodenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) [Explore all 70 Georges Rodenbach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rodenbach/) ## More Penitence quotes > [There must be room for penitence to mend Life's broken chance; else noise of wars would unmake heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cary/there-must-be-room-for-penitence-to-mend-life-s-broken-chance-else/) [Alice Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cary/) > [“Penitence is nothing but a form of self-indulgence. Some things you cannot wash from your hands, and there’s no use in trying.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-keyes/penitence-is-nothing-but-a-form-of-self-indulgence-some-things-you/) [Greg Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-keyes/) > [“Some people in orthodox churches in Africa take poverty as a path that leads to heaven, making christianity look unattractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-people-in-orthodox-churches-in-africa-take-poverty-as-a-path/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Hail, high Excess especially in wine, To thee in worship do I bend the knee Who preach abstemiousness unto me My skull thy pulpit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/hail-high-excess-especially-in-wine-to-thee-in-worship-do-i-bend-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Someone who is elated with wine speaks the truth on all subjects, even without meaning to. In the same way, anyone who is inebriated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-climacus/someone-who-is-elated-with-wine-speaks-the-truth-on-all-subjects-even/) [John Climacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-climacus/) > [The meaning of atonement is not to be found in our penitence evoked by the sight of Calvary, but rather in what God did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/the-meaning-of-atonement-is-not-to-be-found-in-our-penitence-evoked/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [It's not my business to try and make God think like me... but to try, in prayer and penitence, to think like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/it-s-not-my-business-to-try-and-make-god-think-like-me-but-to-try-in/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Prayer is the converse of the soul with God. Therein we manifest or express to Him our reverence, and love for His divine perfection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hodge/prayer-is-the-converse-of-the-soul-with-god-therein-we-manifest-or/) [Charles Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hodge/) > [Virtue and vice are both prophets; the first, of certain good; the second, of pain or else of penitence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-venning/virtue-and-vice-are-both-prophets-the-first-of-certain-good-the/) [Ralph Venning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-venning/) > [“It was a long week of penitence and fasting, during which there were no card games and no music that might lead to lust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/it-was-a-long-week-of-penitence-and-fasting-during-which-there-were/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/prayer-in-the-sense-of-petition-asking-for-things-is-a-small-part-of/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [True penitence condemns to silence. What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-h-bradley/true-penitence-condemns-to-silence-what-a-man-is-ready-to-recall-he/) [F. H. Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-h-bradley/) > [He prays best who, not asking God to do man's work, prays penitence, prays resolutions, and then prays deeds--thus supplicating with heart and head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/he-prays-best-who-not-asking-god-to-do-man-s-work-prays-penitence/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [All the impressions which are made on us by Nature are designed to exercise our soul during its terms of penitence, to prompt us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-claude-de-saint-martin/all-the-impressions-which-are-made-on-us-by-nature-are-designed-to/) [Louis Claude de Saint-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-claude-de-saint-martin/) > [ Here is the interesting twist:\[McLeod\] Campbell came to his views through reading Jonathan Edwards who suggested at one point in his ruminations on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/here-is-the-interesting-twist-mcleod-campbell-came-to-his-views/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) [Browse all 48 Penitence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penitence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Now they came, spectres in mourning, humbling themselves, ghosts, their eyes the only points of brightness. It was harrowing: a long cortege of shadows. This time silence had come flooding in. Not a sound, not a cry. A silence all the more sinister for being black. There is the white silence of the Beguines' workrooms; it is sweet. Here was a black silence that strikes terror to the heart, slipping past like water, as full of pitfalls as the night. At first all that could be made out was a tangle of crosses, all the raised arms of the crosses of a graveyard. 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