--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am alone on this road strewn with bones…" description: "\"I am alone on this road strewn with bones and bordered by ruins! Angels have their brothers, and demons have their infernal companions. Yet I have but ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e91/gustave-flaubert-354_angel_i-am-alone-on-this-road-strewn-with-bone_1508215.jpg" --- # I am alone on this road strewn with bones and bordered by… ![“I am alone on this road strewn with bones and bordered by ruins! Angels have their brothers, and demons have their infernal companions. Yet I have but the sound of my scythe when it harvests, my whistling arrows, my galloping horse. Always the sound of the same wave eating away at the world” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e91/gustave-flaubert-354_angel_i-am-alone-on-this-road-strewn-with-bone_1508215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e91/gustave-flaubert-354_angel_i-am-alone-on-this-road-strewn-with-bone_1508215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e91/gustave-flaubert-354_angel_i-am-alone-on-this-road-strewn-with-bone_1508215.jpg) > “I am alone on this road strewn with bones and bordered by ruins! Angels have their brothers, and demons have their infernal companions. Yet I have but the sound of my scythe when it harvests, my whistling arrows, my galloping horse. Always the sound of the same wave eating away at the world” [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 speaker feels isolated amidst desolation, yet finds purpose in the relentless, solitary work of a harvester. **In simple terms:** Solitude amid ruin. Key Takeaway Embrace your solitary purpose. Themes isolation war purpose destiny Mood melancholic determined Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - war zones - personal loss - creative endeavors - spiritual quests Key Concepts existentialism nihilism heroism Questions to Reflect On - What drives you when surrounded by decay? - Do you find meaning in repetitive tasks? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Angels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angels/) [Arrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrows/) [Bones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bones/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brothers Demons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-demons-5546129/) [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Demon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demon/) [Demons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demons/) [Demons Infernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demons-infernal-5546128/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Galloping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galloping/) [Harvest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harvest/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Ruins Angels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins-angels-5546127/) [Scythes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scythes/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wave/) [Whistling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whistling/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [In the dark room a cloud of yellow dust flew from beneath the tool like a scatter of sparks from under the hooves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/in-the-dark-room-a-cloud-of-yellow-dust-flew-from-beneath-the-tool/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A halo surrounded the grim reaper nun, Sister Maria. (By the way-I like this human idea of the grim reaper. I like the scythe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/a-halo-surrounded-the-grim-reaper-nun-sister-maria-by-the-way-i-like/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Firstly, there no such person as Death. Second, Death's this tall guy with a bone face, like a skeletal monk, with a scythe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/firstly-there-no-such-person-as-death-second-death-s-this-tall-guy/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [A physician can sometimes parry the scythe of death, but has no power over the sand in the hourglass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hester-lynch-piozzi/a-physician-can-sometimes-parry-the-scythe-of-death-but-has-no-power/) [Hester Lynch Piozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hester-lynch-piozzi/) > [I have terrible nightmares, you know. Every night when I come home from a long day’s dying, I take off my skin and lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-have-terrible-nightmares-you-know-every-night-when-i-come-home-from/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/you-talk-of-the-scythe-of-time-and-the-tooth-of-time-i-tell-you-time/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Only the first swath cut by the scythe is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/only-the-first-swath-cut-by-the-scythe-is-difficult/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover, Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank, Conceives by idleness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-even-mead-that-erst-brought-sweetly-forth-the-freckled-cowslip/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“You are quarter ghost on your mother’s side. Your heart is a flayed peach in a bone box. Your hair comes away in clumps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaal-may/you-are-quarter-ghost-on-your-mother-s-side-your-heart-is-a-flayed/) [Jamaal May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaal-may/) > [So what does Tod look like? Whitewashed skeleton skulking around in a black cape and hood? Carrying a scythe? 'Cause I'm thinking that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/so-what-does-tod-look-like-whitewashed-skeleton-skulking-around-in-a/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [Genius scorns the power of gold: it is wrong. Gold is the war-scythe on its chariot, which mows down the millions of its foes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/genius-scorns-the-power-of-gold-it-is-wrong-gold-is-the-war-scythe-on/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [Whatever shall we do in that remote spot? Well, we will write our memoirs. Work is the scythe of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/whatever-shall-we-do-in-that-remote-spot-well-we-will-write-our/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Some things are fairly obvious when it's a seven-foot skeleton with a scythe telling you them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/some-things-are-fairly-obvious-when-it-s-a-seven-foot-skeleton-with-a/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I have been taunting the Reaper into taking a free scythe in my direction and have now succumbed to something so predictable and banal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-have-been-taunting-the-reaper-into-taking-a-free-scythe-in-my/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Before falling to the scythe the weeds enjoy a little breeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-levitt/before-falling-to-the-scythe-the-weeds-enjoy-a-little-breeze/) [Peter Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-levitt/) ## 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/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [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/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Angel quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [If I wer an angel,i would make all your wishes come true..but I'm only a girl a girl who loves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/if-i-wer-an-angel-i-would-make-all-your-wishes-come-true-but-i-m-only/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/) [Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [I believe in UFOs, I believe in extraterrestrials, and I believe in angels. And maybe they'll protect all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-believe-in-ufos-i-believe-in-extraterrestrials-and-i-believe-in/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born king.' Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-glory-to-the-new-born-king-peace-on-earth/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Mooner was walking around laying his hands on the cars, divining karma. "this is it", he said, standing by a small khaki-colored jeep."this car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/mooner-was-walking-around-laying-his-hands-on-the-cars-divining-karma/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 4,625 Angel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am alone on this road strewn with bones and bordered by ruins! Angels have their brothers, and demons have their infernal companions. Yet I have but the sound of my scythe when it harvests, my whistling arrows, my galloping horse. 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