--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is life when you come to think upon…" description: "\"What is life when you come to think upon it, but a most excellent, accurately set, infinitely complicated machine for turning fat playful puppies into ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/isak-dinesen-3174_blind_what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon_2126544.jpg" --- # What is life when you come to think upon it, but a most… ![“What is life when you come to think upon it, but a most excellent, accurately set, infinitely complicated machine for turning fat playful puppies into old mangy blind dogs, and proud war horses into skinny nags, and succulent young boys, to whom the world holds great delights and terrors, into old…” quote by Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/isak-dinesen-3174_blind_what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon_2126544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/isak-dinesen-3174_blind_what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon_2126544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/isak-dinesen-3174_blind_what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon_2126544.jpg) > “What is life when you come to think upon it, but a most excellent, accurately set, infinitely complicated machine for turning fat playful puppies into old mangy blind dogs, and proud war horses into skinny nags, and succulent young boys, to whom the world holds great delights and terrors, into old weak men, with running eyes, who drink ground rhino-horn?” [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is portrayed as a complex, deterministic system that transforms youthful vigor and optimism into aging, frailty, and disillusionment. **In simple terms:** Life turns youthful energy into old age and decline. Key Takeaway Recognize and cherish vitality before it wanes. Themes mortality transformation humanity inevitability reflection Mood melancholy contemplative somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - youthful ambition - career progression - health aging - relationship dynamics - creative projects Key Concepts determinism entropy life cycle Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing life's mechanical aspects affect your choices? - Can we resist the inevitable decline? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify human agency and resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Delights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delights/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogs/) [Horns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horns/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Puppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppy/) [Rhinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhinos/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Succulents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succulents/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-horse/) [Weak men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak-men/) [What is life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-is-life/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [They say that cats are the only animal that can sit in your lap and ignore you. To which I say: you've never been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/they-say-that-cats-are-the-only-animal-that-can-sit-in-your-lap-and/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [The rhino is now more or less extinct, and it's not because of global warming or shrinking habitats. 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Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The kiss originated when the first male reptile licked the first female reptile, implying in a subtle way that she was as succulent as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-kiss-originated-when-the-first-male-reptile-licked-the-first/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I have a house full of dead succulents but I was very attentive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-levine/i-have-a-house-full-of-dead-succulents-but-i-was-very-attentive/) [Alice Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-levine/) > [A large, still book is a piece of quietness, succulent and nourishing in a noisy world, which I approach and imbibe with "a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holbrook-jackson/a-large-still-book-is-a-piece-of-quietness-succulent-and-nourishing/) [Holbrook Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holbrook-jackson/) > [A succulent wild woman is one of any age who feels free to fully express herself in every dimension of her life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sark/a-succulent-wild-woman-is-one-of-any-age-who-feels-free-to-fully/) [Sark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sark/) ## More by Isak Dinesen > [The divine art is the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/the-divine-art-is-the-story/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [Your own self, your personality and existence are reflected within the mind of each of the people whom you meet, ... into a likeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/your-own-self-your-personality-and-existence-are-reflected-within-the/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [A great artist is never poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/a-great-artist-is-never-poor/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [To be a person is to have a story to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/to-be-a-person-is-to-have-a-story-to-tell/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [One does not travel by plane. One is merely sent, like a parcel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/one-does-not-travel-by-plane-one-is-merely-sent-like-a-parcel/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [When we are young the idea of death or failure is intolerable to us; even the possibility of ridicule we cannot bear. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-we-are-young-the-idea-of-death-or-failure-is-intolerable-to-us/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [Here and there, in some older houses, old faded daguerreotypes still hang on the walls... They seem to us to be very simple... compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/here-and-there-in-some-older-houses-old-faded-daguerreotypes-still/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“It is more than their land that you take away from the people, whose Native land you take. It is their past as well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/it-is-more-than-their-land-that-you-take-away-from-the-people-whose/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [There was a place in the Hills, on the first ridge in the Game Reserve, that I myself at the time when I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/there-was-a-place-in-the-hills-on-the-first-ridge-in-the-game-reserve/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/if-i-know-a-song-of-africa-of-the-giraffe-and-the-african-new-moon/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [People who dream when they sleep at night know of a special kind of happiness which the world of the day holds not, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/people-who-dream-when-they-sleep-at-night-know-of-a-special-kind-of/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [All sorrows can be borne if you can put them into a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/all-sorrows-can-be-borne-if-you-can-put-them-into-a-story/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [the true art of the gods is the comic. The comic is a condescension of the divine to the world of man; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/the-true-art-of-the-gods-is-the-comic-the-comic-is-a-condescension-of/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“Dr Sass…maintained that in paradise, until the time of the fall, the whole world was flat, the back-curtain of the Lord, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/dr-sass-maintained-that-in-paradise-until-the-time-of-the-fall-the/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-you-have-a-great-and-difficult-task-something-perhaps-almost/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) [Explore all 135 Isak Dinesen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. 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Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is life when you come to think upon it, but a most excellent, accurately set, infinitely complicated machine for turning fat playful puppies into old mangy blind dogs, and proud war horses into skinny nags, and succulent young boys, to whom the world holds great delights and terrors, into old weak men, with running eyes, who drink ground rhino-horn?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isak Dinesen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon-it-but-a-most-excellent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon-it-but-a-most-excellent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/isak-dinesen-3174_blind_what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon_2126544.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/isak-dinesen-3174_blind_what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon_2126544.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/084/isak-dinesen-3174_blind_what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon_2126544.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is life when you come to think upon it, but a most excellent, accurately set, infinitely complicated…” — Isak Dinesen", "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": "Isak Dinesen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is life when you come...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon-it-but-a-most-excellent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/what-is-life-when-you-come-to-think-upon-it-but-a-most-excellent/#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 } } ] } ```