--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never is he going to be his old self…" description: "\"“Never is he going to be his old self again. Never is he going to have his old resilience. Whatever inside him was given the task of mending the organi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/j-m-coetzee-2457_assaulted_never-is-he-going-to-be-his-old-self-aga_1579328.jpg" --- # Never is he going to be his old self again. Never is he… ![“Never is he going to be his old self again. Never is he going to have his old resilience. Whatever inside him was given the task of mending the organism after it was so terribly assaulted, first on the road, then in the operating theatre, has grown too tired of the job, too overburdened. And the…” quote by J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/j-m-coetzee-2457_assaulted_never-is-he-going-to-be-his-old-self-aga_1579328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/j-m-coetzee-2457_assaulted_never-is-he-going-to-be-his-old-self-aga_1579328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/j-m-coetzee-2457_assaulted_never-is-he-going-to-be-his-old-self-aga_1579328.jpg) > ““Never is he going to be his old self again. Never is he going to have his old resilience. Whatever inside him was given the task of mending the organism after it was so terribly assaulted, first on the road, then in the operating theatre, has grown too tired of the job, too overburdened. And the same holds for the rest of the team, the lungs, the heart, the muscles, the brain. They did for him what they could as long as they could; now they want to rest.”” [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The body and mind can become exhausted after severe trauma, leaving a person unable to regain former strength. **In simple terms:** Trauma can drain resilience. Key Takeaway Accept limits and seek healing. Themes trauma resilience healing teamwork Mood reflective somber Type cautionary inspirational When to use this quote - post‑surgery recovery - long‑term illness - mental health treatment - team support - rehabilitation Key Concepts physiology psychology stress response Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when you need rest? - What strategies help rebuild resilience? A Different Perspective Recovery may be slow and incomplete; support alone cannot fully restore. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Old self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-self/) ## Related quotes > [Business requires an unbelievable level of resilience inside you, the chokehold on the growth of your business is always the leader, it's always your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-benioff/business-requires-an-unbelievable-level-of-resilience-inside-you-the/) [Marc Benioff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-benioff/) > [Or shall I go out as a light does, not first blown out by the wind, but grown tired and weary of itself -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/or-shall-i-go-out-as-a-light-does-not-first-blown-out-by-the-wind-but/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I've grown tired of resting on my laurels and have decided to start resting on my failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gould/i-ve-grown-tired-of-resting-on-my-laurels-and-have-decided-to-start/) [Dana Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gould/) > [I've grown tired of traveling alone, won't you ride with me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/i-ve-grown-tired-of-traveling-alone-won-t-you-ride-with-me/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I've Grown Tired Of These F-ckin Grown Man Liars, Story Tellers, They Don't Even Need A Camp Fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-ve-grown-tired-of-these-f-ckin-grown-man-liars-story-tellers-they/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [And I Jack, the Pumpkin King, have grown so tired of the same old thing...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-burton/and-i-jack-the-pumpkin-king-have-grown-so-tired-of-the-same-old-thing/) [Tim Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-burton/) > [I've grown tired of love You are the trouble with me I watch you walk right by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-ve-grown-tired-of-love-you-are-the-trouble-with-me-i-watch-you-walk/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“He would never want to diminish that event, that blow. It was nothing less than a calamity. It has shrunk his world, turned him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/he-would-never-want-to-diminish-that-event-that-blow-it-was-nothing/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“What I call my philosophy of teaching is in fact a philosophy of learning. It comes out of Plato, modified. Before true learning can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/what-i-call-my-philosophy-of-teaching-is-in-fact-a-philosophy-of/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“I have been assaulted by cleverness on all fronts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/i-have-been-assaulted-by-cleverness-on-all-fronts/) [Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/) > [“Isn’t it sad that when a girl says she was sexually assaulted, our first instinct is to think she’s probably lying? 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Follow them through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-urge-you-don-t-cut-short-these-thought-trains-of-yours-follow-them/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“I truly believe I am not afraid of death. What I shrink from, I believe, is the shame of dying as stupid and befuddled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-truly-believe-i-am-not-afraid-of-death-what-i-shrink-from-i-believe/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Technically he is old enough to be her father; but then, technically one can be a father at twelve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/technically-he-is-old-enough-to-be-her-father-but-then-technically/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“I remember asking John, after Dusklands, what new project he had on the go. His answer was vague. 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"This is not happening", she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/lucy-was-frightened-frightened-near-to-death-her-voice-choked-she/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“It occurs to me that we crush insects beneath our feet, miracles of creation too, beetles, worms, cockroaches, ants, in their various ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/it-occurs-to-me-that-we-crush-insects-beneath-our-feet-miracles-of/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“He sits with the pen in his hand, holding himself back from a descent into representations that have no place in the world, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/he-sits-with-the-pen-in-his-hand-holding-himself-back-from-a-descent/) [J.M. 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Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“If he has a last thought, if there is time for a last thought, it will simply be, So this is what a last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/if-he-has-a-last-thought-if-there-is-time-for-a-last-thought-it-will/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“At what age , he wonders, did Origen castrate himself? Not the most graceful solution, but then ageing is not a graceful bussines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/at-what-age-he-wonders-did-origen-castrate-himself-not-the-most/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“...he seems to be on the brink of one of his bad spells again, one of the fits of lugubrious self-pity that turn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/he-seems-to-be-on-the-brink-of-one-of-his-bad-spells-again-one-of-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) [Explore all 122 J.M. Coetzee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) ## More Assaulted quotes > [I assaulted Stone Cold Steve Austin and got away with it! It was indeed a very special night for me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-mcmahon/i-assaulted-stone-cold-steve-austin-and-got-away-with-it-it-was/) [Vince McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-mcmahon/) > [I don't know how I can feel safe with Donald Trump, who bragged about sexual assault having the most power of anyone in America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-pozner/i-don-t-know-how-i-can-feel-safe-with-donald-trump-who-bragged-about/) [Jennifer Pozner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-pozner/) > [If a girl gets assaulted, it's not because she was drunk. It's because somebody decided to assault her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-shenk/if-a-girl-gets-assaulted-it-s-not-because-she-was-drunk-it-s-because/) [Jon Shenk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-shenk/) > [i was raped, too sexually assaulted in seventh grade, tenth grade. the summer after graduation, at a party i was 16 i was 14…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-was-raped-too-sexually-assaulted-in-seventh-grade-tenth-grade-the/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“Isn’t it sad that when a girl says she was sexually assaulted, our first instinct is to think she’s probably lying? Statistics and facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/isn-t-it-sad-that-when-a-girl-says-she-was-sexually-assaulted-our/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [“I have been assaulted by cleverness on all fronts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/i-have-been-assaulted-by-cleverness-on-all-fronts/) [Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/) > [ \[Donald Trump\] held a number of big rallies where he said that he could not possibly have done those things to those women because… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/donald-trump-held-a-number-of-big-rallies-where-he-said-that-he-could/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I've met my share of guys who have insulted and assaulted my intelligence with their stories and games. I say hello and goodbye!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aretha-franklin/i-ve-met-my-share-of-guys-who-have-insulted-and-assaulted-my/) [Aretha Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aretha-franklin/) > [“Aiden… I can’t see anything.” “That’s the point.” “Well, thanks, Captain Obvious.” I reached out blindly, but only felt air. “What do you expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/aiden-i-can-t-see-anything-that-s-the-point-well-thanks-captain/) [Jennifer L. 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When you look at my record ... I jumped a taxi as a 21-year-old,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-mason/the-media-character-assassinated-me-and-perceived-me-as-this-monster/) [Willie Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-mason/) > [I've been physically assaulted several times in the street. Somebody once pushed me into traffic. I've been followed into gay clubs, for example, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/i-ve-been-physically-assaulted-several-times-in-the-street-somebody/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [You can be a victim of a crime and not exercise great judgment. And when women have been sexually assaulted, they feel like they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/you-can-be-a-victim-of-a-crime-and-not-exercise-great-judgment-and/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) Browse all 43 Assaulted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Never is he going to be his old self again. Never is he going to have his old resilience. Whatever inside him was given the task of mending the organism after it was so terribly assaulted, first on the road, then in the operating theatre, has grown too tired of the job, too overburdened. And the same holds for the rest of the team, the lungs, the heart, the muscles, the brain. They did for him what they could as long as they could; now they want to rest.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.M. 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