--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I see only the ideal. But no ideals have…" description: "\"I see only the ideal. But no ideals have ever been fully successful on this earth.\" — Isadora Duncan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/isadora-duncan-7255_earth_i-see-only-the-ideal-but-no-ideals-have_925236.jpg" --- # I see only the ideal. But no ideals have ever been fully… ![“I see only the ideal. But no ideals have ever been fully successful on this earth.” quote by Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/isadora-duncan-7255_earth_i-see-only-the-ideal-but-no-ideals-have_925236.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/isadora-duncan-7255_earth_i-see-only-the-ideal-but-no-ideals-have_925236.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/isadora-duncan-7255_earth_i-see-only-the-ideal-but-no-ideals-have_925236.jpg) > “I see only the ideal. But no ideals have ever been fully successful on this earth.” [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Idealism is unattainable; no perfect ideals have ever fully succeeded on Earth. **In simple terms:** No ideal is ever completely successful. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection while striving for better. Themes idealism realism philosophy imperfection aspiration Mood reflective philosophical Type thought‑provoking inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - social movements - political reforms - artistic endeavors Key Concepts human nature philosophical limits pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - What ideals guide your actions? - How do you balance idealism with practicality? A Different Perspective Idealism can lead to disillusionment if expectations are unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal/) [Ideal Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-ideals-1463169/) [Idealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealism/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Ideals Fully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals-fully-1463171/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-earth-1463168/) ## Related quotes > [You can't achieve anything entirely by yourself. There's a support system that is a basic requirement of human existence. To be happy and successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schur/you-can-t-achieve-anything-entirely-by-yourself-there-s-a-support/) [Michael Schur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schur/) > [You cannot chase a dollar and an ideal at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/you-cannot-chase-a-dollar-and-an-ideal-at-the-same-time/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [“If you ask me, my ideal would be the society based on liberty, equality and fraternity. An ideal society should be mobile and full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhimrao-ramji-ambedkar/if-you-ask-me-my-ideal-would-be-the-society-based-on-liberty-equality/) [Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhimrao-ramji-ambedkar/) > [The ideal self is the wish to be like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-barbarulo/the-ideal-self-is-the-wish-to-be-like-god/) [Michael Barbarulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-barbarulo/) > [Idealism only works in an ideal world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/idealism-only-works-in-an-ideal-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What can I do to become more like my Ideal Image?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bucky-sinister/what-can-i-do-to-become-more-like-my-ideal-image/) [Bucky Sinister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bucky-sinister/) > [Do not try to produce an ideal child, it would find no fitness in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/do-not-try-to-produce-an-ideal-child-it-would-find-no-fitness-in-this/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The American ideal is, after all, that everyone should be as much alike as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-is-after-all-that-everyone-should-be-as-much-alike/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [Live for an ideal, and that one ideal alone. Let it be so great, so strong, that there may be nothing else left in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/live-for-an-ideal-and-that-one-ideal-alone-let-it-be-so-great-so/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [In many ways, a degree in the history of ideas is the ideal training for an aspiring writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fortier/in-many-ways-a-degree-in-the-history-of-ideas-is-the-ideal-training/) [Anne Fortier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fortier/) > [Now is the time to lead your ideal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/now-is-the-time-to-lead-your-ideal-life/) [Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/) > [I think in an ideal world, one would be able to do everything, however, we don't live in an ideal world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-graziadei/i-think-in-an-ideal-world-one-would-be-able-to-do-everything-however/) [Michael Graziadei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-graziadei/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I've always worked closely with the designers and whoever's making the costumes. Comfort is the last thing you want on your mind when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-yamaguchi/i-ve-always-worked-closely-with-the-designers-and-whoever-s-making/) [Kristi Yamaguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-yamaguchi/) > [my definition of the ideal man is 'that particular man with whom a woman happens to be in love at that particular time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/my-definition-of-the-ideal-man-is-that-particular-man-with-whom-a/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) ## More by Isadora Duncan > [Art is not necessary at all. All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live in is to love -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/art-is-not-necessary-at-all-all-that-is-necessary-to-make-this-world/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [My art is just an effort to express the truth of my being in gesture and movement. It has taken me long years to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/my-art-is-just-an-effort-to-express-the-truth-of-my-being-in-gesture/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Man must speak, then sing, then dance. The speaking is the brain, the thinking man. The singing is the emotion. The dancing is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/man-must-speak-then-sing-then-dance-the-speaking-is-the-brain-the/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [All my life I have struggled to make one authentic gesture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/all-my-life-i-have-struggled-to-make-one-authentic-gesture/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [I intend to work for this dance of the future. I do not know whether I have the necessary qualities; I may have neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/i-intend-to-work-for-this-dance-of-the-future-i-do-not-know-whether-i/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The only dance masters I could have were Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Walt Whitman and Nietzsche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-only-dance-masters-i-could-have-were-jean-jacques-rousseau-walt/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The dancer will not belong to a nation but to all humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-dancer-will-not-belong-to-a-nation-but-to-all-humanity/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Dancing: The Highest Intelligence in the Freest Body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/dancing-the-highest-intelligence-in-the-freest-body/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [All my lovers have been geniuses; it's the one thing that I insist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/all-my-lovers-have-been-geniuses-it-s-the-one-thing-that-i-insist/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [I have only danced my life. As a child I danced the spontaneous joy of growing things. As an adolescent, I danced with joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/i-have-only-danced-my-life-as-a-child-i-danced-the-spontaneous-joy-of/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [When I was sixteen, I danced before an audience without music. At the end someone suddenly cried 'its Death and the Maiden'. But that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/when-i-was-sixteen-i-danced-before-an-audience-without-music-at-the/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [It is unheard-of, uncivilized barbarism that any woman should still be forced to bear such monstrous torture. It should be remedied. It should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/it-is-unheard-of-uncivilized-barbarism-that-any-woman-should-still-be/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The dancer will not belong to any nation but to all humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-dancer-will-not-belong-to-any-nation-but-to-all-humanity/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [To awaken human emotion is the highest level of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/to-awaken-human-emotion-is-the-highest-level-of-art/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [The dancer's body is simply the luminous manifestation of her soul...This is the truly creative dancer, natural but not imitative, speaking in movement out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-dancer-s-body-is-simply-the-luminous-manifestation-of-her-soul/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) [Explore all 92 Isadora Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) ## More Earth quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. 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