---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And indeed, what is better than to sit by…"
description: "\"And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window and the lamp is buring?\" —..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/gustave-flaubert-354_beats_and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by_64379.jpg"
---

#  And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside…

![“And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window and the lamp is buring?” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/gustave-flaubert-354_beats_and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by_64379.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/gustave-flaubert-354_beats_and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by_64379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/gustave-flaubert-354_beats_and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by_64379.jpg)

> “And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window and the lamp is buring?”

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote celebrates the cozy, reflective pleasure of reading alone as night falls, emphasizing sensory details that heighten the experience.

**In simple terms:** Reading by fire at night is a tranquil, immersive ritual.

Key Takeaway

Solitude and literature create deep personal enrichment.

Themes

solitude reading sensory immersion nighttime comfort

Mood

contemplative cozy introspective

Type

philosophical descriptive reflective

When to use this quote

- after work unwind
- rainy evenings
- holiday evenings
- personal retreat

Key Concepts

atmosphere focus inner reflection

Practical Applications

- creative writing inspiration
- mental relaxation

Questions to Reflect On

- How does a quiet setting affect your comprehension?
- What emotions does the sound of wind evoke while reading?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/)

## Related quotes

> [What better occupation, really, than to spend the evening at the fireside with a book, with the wind beating on the windows and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/what-better-occupation-really-than-to-spend-the-evening-at-the/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [“Sometimes a glance, a few casual words, fragments of a melody floating through the quiet air of a summer evening, a book that accidentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-govinda/sometimes-a-glance-a-few-casual-words-fragments-of-a-melody-floating/)

Lama Govinda

> [It is unnecessary to understand electromagnetic theory before wiring a lamp or to study physics in order to repair a pump. We count on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-r-newman/it-is-unnecessary-to-understand-electromagnetic-theory-before-wiring/)

[James R Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-r-newman/)

> [Walking the streets on winter nights kept him warm, despite the cold nocturnal passions of uprising winds. His footsteps led between trade-marked houses, two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sillitoe/walking-the-streets-on-winter-nights-kept-him-warm-despite-the-cold/)

[Alan Sillitoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sillitoe/)

> [My overcoat is worn out my shirts also are worn out. And I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in the evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tyndale/my-overcoat-is-worn-out-my-shirts-also-are-worn-out-and-i-ask-to-be/)

[William Tyndale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tyndale/)

> [An unsophisticated forecaster uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support rather than for illumination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/an-unsophisticated-forecaster-uses-statistics-as-a-drunken-man-uses/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [In the center of all rests the sun. For who would place this lamp of a very beautiful temple in another or better place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/in-the-center-of-all-rests-the-sun-for-who-would-place-this-lamp-of-a/)

[Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/)

> [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-see-thee-better-in-the-dark-i-do-not-need-a-light-the-love-of-thee/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [Be calm, be strong, be grateful, and become a lamp full of light, that the darkness of sorrows be annihilated, and that the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/be-calm-be-strong-be-grateful-and-become-a-lamp-full-of-light-that/)

[Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/)

> [Statuettes of drunken sailors, velvet pictures of island maidens, plastic seashell lamps made in Taiwan. What contempt the people who think up souvenirs have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/statuettes-of-drunken-sailors-velvet-pictures-of-island-maidens/)

[Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/)

> [Genius finds its own road and carries its own lamp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/genius-finds-its-own-road-and-carries-its-own-lamp/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [There's a mouse in here with me. He's sitting there in the light of the lamp, looking up at me. He seems as surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/there-s-a-mouse-in-here-with-me-he-s-sitting-there-in-the-light-of/)

[Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/)

> [Be lamps unto yourselves. Be refuges unto yourselves. Take yourself no external refuge. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Hold fast to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/be-lamps-unto-yourselves-be-refuges-unto-yourselves-take-yourself-no/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/)

[Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/)

> [The sacred lamp of day Now dipt in Western clouds his parting day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-falconer/the-sacred-lamp-of-day-now-dipt-in-western-clouds-his-parting-day/)

[William Falconer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-falconer/)

## More by Gustave Flaubert

> [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Maybe happiness too is a metaphor invented on a day of boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/maybe-happiness-too-is-a-metaphor-invented-on-a-day-of-boredom/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

[Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

## More Beats quotes

> [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/)

[Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/)

> [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/)

[Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/)

> [The Beat Generation, that was a vision that we had, John Clellon Holmes and I, and Allen Ginsberg in an even wilder way, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-beat-generation-that-was-a-vision-that-we-had-john-clellon-holmes/)

[Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/)

> [Certainly these are not easy times. But history does not contain very many easy times. Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/)

[Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/)

> [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/)

[Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/)

> [If you don't like club beats take a HIT OF E and you will love the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/if-you-don-t-like-club-beats-take-a-hit-of-e-and-you-will-love-the/)

[Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/)

> [Every pitcher can beat you, it doesn't matter how good you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bonds/every-pitcher-can-beat-you-it-doesn-t-matter-how-good-you-are/)

[Barry Bonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-bonds/)

> [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/)

[Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/)

> [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/)

Chaz Brenchley

> [Practice to beat the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-bennett/practice-to-beat-the-best/)

[Dick Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-bennett/)

> [I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know in our region everyone is gunning to beat us. We have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/landon-donovan/i-don-t-know-about-the-rest-of-the-world-but-i-know-in-our-region/)

[Landon Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/landon-donovan/)

> [Grand business plans are all very well, but nothing beats dipping your toe in the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-bilimoria-karan-bilimoria/grand-business-plans-are-all-very-well-but-nothing-beats-dipping-your/)

Baron Bilimoria Karan Bilimoria

> [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Imagine if you were a drummer, and you accidentally picked up two magic wands instead of sticks. There you are, keeping the beat, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/imagine-if-you-were-a-drummer-and-you-accidentally-picked-up-two/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [I don't like small birds. They hop around so merrily outside my window, looking so innocent. but I know that secretly, they're watching my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-like-small-birds-they-hop-around-so-merrily-outside-my-window/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

Browse all 3,311 Beats quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window and the lamp is buring?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gustave Flaubert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beats"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/gustave-flaubert-354_beats_and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by_64379.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/gustave-flaubert-354_beats_and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by_64379.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c1/gustave-flaubert-354_beats_and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by_64379.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats…” — Gustave Flaubert",
                "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": "Gustave Flaubert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "And indeed, what is better than...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
