--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now he reduced his progress to the rhythm…" description: "\"“Now he reduced his progress to the rhythm of his boots -- he walked across the land until he came to the sea. Everything that impeded him had to be ou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ian-mcewan-494_far-side_now-he-reduced-his-progress-to-the-rhyth_3225684.jpg" --- # Now he reduced his progress to the rhythm of his boots… ![“Now he reduced his progress to the rhythm of his boots -- he walked across the land until he came to the sea. Everything that impeded him had to be outweighed, even if only by a fraction, by all that drove him on. In one pan of the scales, his wound, thirst, the blister, tiredness, the heat, the…” quote by Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ian-mcewan-494_far-side_now-he-reduced-his-progress-to-the-rhyth_3225684.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ian-mcewan-494_far-side_now-he-reduced-his-progress-to-the-rhyth_3225684.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ian-mcewan-494_far-side_now-he-reduced-his-progress-to-the-rhyth_3225684.jpg) > ““Now he reduced his progress to the rhythm of his boots -- he walked across the land until he came to the sea. Everything that impeded him had to be outweighed, even if only by a fraction, by all that drove him on. In one pan of the scales, his wound, thirst, the blister, tiredness, the heat, the aching in his feet and legs, the Stukas, the distance, the Channel; in the other, I'll wait for you, and the memory of when she had said it, which he had come to treat like a sacred site. Also, the fear of capture. His most sensual memories -- their few minutes in the library, the kiss in Whitehall -- was bleached colorless through overuse. He knew by heart certain passages from her letters, he had revisited their tussle with the vase by the fountain, he remembered the warmth from her arm at the dinner when the twins went missing. These memories sustained him, but not so easily. Too often they reminded him of where he was when he last summoned them. They lay on the far side of a great divide in time, as significant as B.C. and A.D. Before prison, before war, before the sight of a corpse became a banality. But these heresies died when he read her last letter. He touched his breast pocket. It was a kind of genuflection. Still there. Here was something new on the scales. That he could be cleared had all the simplicity of love. Merely tasting the possibility reminded him of how much had narrowed and died. His taste for life, no less, all the old ambitions and pleasures. The prospect was of rebirth, a triumphant return.”” [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A soldier draws strength from love and memory, balancing pain and hope toward renewal. **In simple terms:** Love and memory fuel perseverance despite hardship. Key Takeaway Use cherished memories as motivation. Themes war memory love resilience Mood determined hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - combat - long‑distance communication - personal loss Key Concepts psychology motivation trauma Questions to Reflect On - Which memories truly empower you? - How do you keep hope alive in adversity? A Different Perspective Idealizing memories can create unrealistic expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [“The memory of him tracing the lines of my face filled me. I remembered the touch of his sensitive fingers, following my jawline, running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/the-memory-of-him-tracing-the-lines-of-my-face-filled-me-i-remembered/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [“Beautiful memories are sensual memories, and they are created daily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/beautiful-memories-are-sensual-memories-and-they-are-created-daily/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [Steve Jobs was never going to let Flash on any Apple product again like that after in 1997 - he's got a long memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/steve-jobs-was-never-going-to-let-flash-on-any-apple-product-again/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“What spares us is memory,” he said. “It’s what makes us worth saving. However low we sink, whatever promise we no longer fulfill, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-weisel/what-spares-us-is-memory-he-said-it-s-what-makes-us-worth-saving/) [Frederick Weisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-weisel/) > [“for Falasteen the boy i adored at sixteen gifted me his keffiyeh feeling guilty for living when others were killed simply for existing i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/for-falasteen-the-boy-i-adored-at-sixteen-gifted-me-his-keffiyeh/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Mom said, "His spirit is there," and that made me really angry. I told her, "Dad didn't have a spirit! He had cells!" "His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/mom-said-his-spirit-is-there-and-that-made-me-really-angry-i-told-her/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“You found the memories. But there was another you who tried to take them. So you trapped him in a prison, and only got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannu-rajaniemi/you-found-the-memories-but-there-was-another-you-who-tried-to-take/) [Hannu Rajaniemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannu-rajaniemi/) > [“Loving you is the oldest memory I have,” he said as I stared through my tears at him. “You were a part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-rhys/loving-you-is-the-oldest-memory-i-have-he-said-as-i-stared-through-my/) [Stella Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-rhys/) > [I have decided to leave Clea’s last letter un-answered. I no longer wish to coerce anyone, to make promises, to think of life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/i-have-decided-to-leave-clea-s-last-letter-un-answered-i-no-longer/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Happiness on a mountain, my dreams are on another Making them meet, is like seeing through the eyes of Stevie Wonder Even if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curly-girl/happiness-on-a-mountain-my-dreams-are-on-another-making-them-meet-is/) Curly Girl > [I do apologize for writing by hand - and so badly. I shall soon be like Helen Thomas, notoriously illegible. In her last letter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-do-apologize-for-writing-by-hand-and-so-badly-i-shall-soon-be-like/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [“APOCOPE  (APO'COPE)   n.s.\[  figure in grammar,when the last letter or syllable of a word is taken away; as, ingeni for ingenii.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/apocope-apo-cope-n-s-figure-in-grammar-when-the-last-letter-or/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“And Cézanne, in the last letter he wrote, laments his poor health, and adds: “Je continue donc mes études.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/and-c-zanne-in-the-last-letter-he-wrote-laments-his-poor-health-and/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Dear Mr. Weston, Hello again. We were beginning to wonder what had happened to you. I guess things have been pretty quiet since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-korman/dear-mr-weston-hello-again-we-were-beginning-to-wonder-what-had/) [Gordon Korman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-korman/) > [A person who says that O is the last letter of ZERO, instead of the first letter in OPPORTUNITY.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/araba/a-person-who-says-that-o-is-the-last-letter-of-zero-instead-of-the/) [Araba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/araba/) ## More by Ian McEwan > [“As you will see, we do not believe that artists have an obligation to strike up attitudes to the war. Indeed, they are wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/as-you-will-see-we-do-not-believe-that-artists-have-an-obligation-to/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-ve-never-had-a-moment-s-doubt-i-love-you-i-believe-in-you/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-is-shaming-sometimes-how-the-body-will-not-or-cannot-lie-about/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Once, on a walk by a river- Eskdale in low reddish sunlight, with a dusting of snow- his daughter quoted to him an opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/once-on-a-walk-by-a-river-eskdale-in-low-reddish-sunlight-with-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. Like a spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-it-s-one-of-those-cases-of-a-microcosm-giving-you-the-whole/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Who you get, and how it works out- there's so much luck involved, as well as the million branching consequences of your conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/who-you-get-and-how-it-works-out-there-s-so-much-luck-involved-as/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/on-chesil-beach-he-could-have-called-out-to-florence-he-could-have/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It was always the view of my parents...that hot weather encouraged loose morals among young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-always-the-view-of-my-parents-that-hot-weather-encouraged/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. And it is a terrifying prospect and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-would-rather-be-physically-disabled-obviously-than-mentally-i-would/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Words, as I'm beginning to appreciate, can make things true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/words-as-i-m-beginning-to-appreciate-can-make-things-true/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I couldn't think about novels at all. It seemed the only writing that was appropriate to that horrendous event was journalism, reportage. And, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-couldn-t-think-about-novels-at-all-it-seemed-the-only-writing-that/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I did not kill my father, but I sometimes felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-did-not-kill-my-father-but-i-sometimes-felt-i-had-helped-him-on-his/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) [Explore all 496 Ian McEwan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More Far side quotes > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“My advice is, the next time you see someone you think you need to rescue, walk quickly away on the far side of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/my-advice-is-the-next-time-you-see-someone-you-think-you-need-to/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [“When you’re climbing up a rock face, your hands are not more than a few inches from your eyes, but when you’re coming down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-archer/when-you-re-climbing-up-a-rock-face-your-hands-are-not-more-than-a/) [Jeffrey Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-archer/) > [“Human wisdom has advanced to the point where man can construct satellites. And yet man in his wisdom cannot find a way to rescue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/human-wisdom-has-advanced-to-the-point-where-man-can-construct/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [“Besides, this was the gentle-going hour in which he hated Annawadi least. The pale sun lent the sewage lake a sparkling silver cast, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/besides-this-was-the-gentle-going-hour-in-which-he-hated-annawadi/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“Hunter, I have no brothers. You are my brother. My wife is dead. My child is dead. My parents are dead. Must I lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/hunter-i-have-no-brothers-you-are-my-brother-my-wife-is-dead-my-child/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [“Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and other dreams. They are journeys you can make to the far side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/short-stories-are-tiny-windows-into-other-worlds-and-other-minds-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Principles are the simplicity on the far side of complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/principles-are-the-simplicity-on-the-far-side-of-complexity/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [“If you understand what holiness is, you come to see that real happiness is on the far side of holiness, not the near side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-understand-what-holiness-is-you-come-to-see-that-real/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Having reached the summit of his vengeance by the slow and tortuous route that he had followed, he had looked over the far side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/having-reached-the-summit-of-his-vengeance-by-the-slow-and-tortuous/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Blue water extends in rows of gentle ripples to a thin line of barely visible cottonwoods on the far side. The wind dies to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-iversen/blue-water-extends-in-rows-of-gentle-ripples-to-a-thin-line-of-barely/) [Kristen Iversen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-iversen/) > [“It is a mistake to think of the expatriate as someone who abdicates, who withdraws and humbles himself, resigned to his miseries, his outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-of-the-expatriate-as-someone-who-abdicates/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [“The last summer of his life he sat hours together on the old chintz-covered swing-bed in front of the willow tree, chain-smoking Woodbines and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-miller/the-last-summer-of-his-life-he-sat-hours-together-on-the-old-chintz/) [Andrew Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-miller/) > [All these years I've sat in airports and kind of drawn people and put like Far Side captions on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/all-these-years-i-ve-sat-in-airports-and-kind-of-drawn-people-and-put/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [“You got no choice, girl. Don’t think ya do. He’s not treatin’ ya too bad right now, but as God is my witness, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/you-got-no-choice-girl-don-t-think-ya-do-he-s-not-treatin-ya-too-bad/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) Browse all 135 Far side quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Now he reduced his progress to the rhythm of his boots -- he walked across the land until he came to the sea. Everything that impeded him had to be outweighed, even if only by a fraction, by all that drove him on. In one pan of the scales, his wound, thirst, the blister, tiredness, the heat, the aching in his feet and legs, the Stukas, the distance, the Channel; in the other, I'll wait for you, and the memory of when she had said it, which he had come to treat like a sacred site. Also, the fear of capture. His most sensual memories -- their few minutes in the library, the kiss in Whitehall -- was bleached colorless through overuse. He knew by heart certain passages from her letters, he had revisited their tussle with the vase by the fountain, he remembered the warmth from her arm at the dinner when the twins went missing. These memories sustained him, but not so easily. Too often they reminded him of where he was when he last summoned them. They lay on the far side of a great divide in time, as significant as B.C. and A.D. Before prison, before war, before the sight of a corpse became a banality. But these heresies died when he read her last letter. He touched his breast pocket. It was a kind of genuflection. Still there. Here was something new on the scales. That he could be cleared had all the simplicity of love. Merely tasting the possibility reminded him of how much had narrowed and died. His taste for life, no less, all the old ambitions and pleasures. 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