Face to face Quote by Henry Miller
““In this sort of hair-trigger eternity I felt that everything was justified, supremely justified; I felt the wars inside me that had left behind this pulp and wrack; I felt the crimes that were seething here to emerge tomorrow in blatant screamers; I felt the misery that was grinding itself out with pestle and mortar, the long dull misery that dribbles away in dirty handkerchiefs. On the meridian of time there is no injustice: there is only the poetry of motion creating the illusion of truth and drama. If at any moment anywhere one comes face to face with the absolute, that great sympathy which makes men like Guatama and Jesus seem divine freezes away; the monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should want roses. For some reason or other man looks for the miracle, and to accomplish it he will wade through blood. He will debauch himself with ideas, he will reduce himself to a shadow if for only one second of his life he can close his eyes to the hideousness of reality. Everything is endured -- disgrace, humiliation, poverty, war, crime, ennui -- in the belief that overnight something will occur, a miracle, which will render life tolerable. And all the while a meter is running inside and there is no hand that can reach in there and shut it off.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Tropic of Cancer, 1934
The passage reflects existential turmoil, the search for meaning amid chaos, and the human yearning for miracles despite suffering.
In simple terms: Life is chaotic, yet we seek meaning.
Seek purpose beyond suffering.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- Artistic creation
- philosophical contemplation
- personal crisis
- social activism
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “poetry of motion” mean to you?
- Can you find beauty in everyday struggle?
The prose can be overly dense, limiting accessibility.