--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world that seemed so various and new…" description: "\"The world that seemed so various and new, well, it does contract. One's burning desire to investigate human behavior, and to make, or imply, statements..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/kingsley-amis-5258_behavior_the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new_1252727.jpg" --- # The world that seemed so various and new, well, it does… ![“The world that seemed so various and new, well, it does contract. One's burning desire to investigate human behavior, and to make, or imply, statements about it, does fall off. And so one does find that early works are full of energy and also full of vulgarity, crudity, and incompetence, and later…” quote by Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/kingsley-amis-5258_behavior_the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new_1252727.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/kingsley-amis-5258_behavior_the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new_1252727.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/kingsley-amis-5258_behavior_the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new_1252727.jpg) > “The world that seemed so various and new, well, it does contract. One's burning desire to investigate human behavior, and to make, or imply, statements about it, does fall off. And so one does find that early works are full of energy and also full of vulgarity, crudity, and incompetence, and later works are more carefully finished, and in that sense better literary products. But . . . there's often a freshness that is missing in later works--for every gain there's a loss. I think it evens out in that way.” [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early creative works are energetic but raw; later works are polished but may lose originality. **In simple terms:** Early works are raw, later works are refined but less fresh. Key Takeaway Balance energy with refinement. Themes creativity growth tradeoffs Mood reflective analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - writing a - academic research - product development - career progression Key Concepts literary development artistic maturity Questions to Reflect On - How can you preserve originality while improving craft? - What tradeoffs do you accept in your creative process? A Different Perspective Polished work can become stagnant without fresh perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Better Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-literary-3953951/) [Burning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning/) [Burning desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning-desire/) [Contracts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracts/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Early work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-work/) [Early Works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-works-3953949/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) [Freshness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freshness/) [Gains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gains/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Human behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-behavior/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Incompetence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incompetence/) [Later Works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/later-works-1524700/) [Literary Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-products-3953952/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/products/) [Statements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statements/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/various/) [Vulgarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity/) [Vulgarity Crudity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity-crudity-3953950/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Documentation is misleading, because the performance is dead. So the very early works were not documented at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/documentation-is-misleading-because-the-performance-is-dead-so-the/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Actually, if you look at the works of the great architects of our time, you can see that their most beautiful works are always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/actually-if-you-look-at-the-works-of-the-great-architects-of-our-time/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [Later works are better because it takes a lot of time in architecture to mature. And, it takes a lot of discipline to experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/later-works-are-better-because-it-takes-a-lot-of-time-in-architecture/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I've never read 'The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe,' but his later works are about whether God is real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-fallon/i-ve-never-read-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-but-his-later/) [Brian Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-fallon/) > [Most of my early work was done on typewriter. And the only way to iterate drafts was to re-type it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/most-of-my-early-work-was-done-on-typewriter-and-the-only-way-to/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [Rockefeller once explained the secret of success. 'Get up early, work late - and strike oil.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-adams/rockefeller-once-explained-the-secret-of-success-get-up-early-work/) [Joey Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-adams/) > [If you get up early, work late, and pay your taxes, you will get ahead -- if you strike oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/if-you-get-up-early-work-late-and-pay-your-taxes-you-will-get-ahead/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [My early work and publications centered around expanding on the analysis of life insurance in my dissertation and its relationship to investment banking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/my-early-work-and-publications-centered-around-expanding-on-the/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [There are some very similar moments in the early work where the focus was on drawing, abstraction and fragmentation. Then it moved to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zaha-hadid/there-are-some-very-similar-moments-in-the-early-work-where-the-focus/) [Zaha Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zaha-hadid/) > [My work is still very much light-hearted, positive outlook, laugh at yourself. But it isn't going to be the laugh-a-minute kind of thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/my-work-is-still-very-much-light-hearted-positive-outlook-laugh-at/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [It will soon be 25 years from the date of publication of my first research work. That the scientific aspirations kindled by that early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-raman/it-will-soon-be-25-years-from-the-date-of-publication-of-my-first/) [C. V. Raman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-raman/) > [There is in my work a very strong religious foreground and background. In the later work some of that tends to diminish, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/there-is-in-my-work-a-very-strong-religious-foreground-and-background/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I like Cronenberg's early work; his '80s films had all these weird, amorphous flesh objects in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autre-ne-veut/i-like-cronenberg-s-early-work-his-80s-films-had-all-these-weird/) [Autre Ne Veut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autre-ne-veut/) > [My first two books are out of print and, okay, they can sleep there comfortably. It's early work, derivative work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/my-first-two-books-are-out-of-print-and-okay-they-can-sleep-there/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [An artist's early work is inevitably made up of a mixture of tendencies and interests, some of which are compatible and some of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/an-artist-s-early-work-is-inevitably-made-up-of-a-mixture-of/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) ## More by Kingsley Amis > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“There was no excuse which didn't consist of inexcusable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/there-was-no-excuse-which-didn-t-consist-of-inexcusable/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The rewards for being sane may not be very many, but knowing what's funny is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-rewards-for-being-sane-may-not-be-very-many-but-knowing-what-s/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The human race has not devised any way of dissolving barriers, getting to know the other chap fast, breaking the ice, that is one-tenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-human-race-has-not-devised-any-way-of-dissolving-barriers-getting/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“{Rogers} sexual aim is “to convert a creature who is cool, dry, calm, articulate, independent, purposeful into a creature who is the opposite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/rogers-sexual-aim-is-to-convert-a-creature-who-is-cool-dry-calm/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [If there's one word that sums up everything that's gone wrong since the war, it's Workshop. After Youth, that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/if-there-s-one-word-that-sums-up-everything-that-s-gone-wrong-since/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Jake was close to tears. In that moment he saw the world in its true light, as a place where nothing had ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/jake-was-close-to-tears-in-that-moment-he-saw-the-world-in-its-true/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [It scored right away with me by being the smooth, fine-grained sort, not the coarse flaky, dry-on-the-outside rubbish full of chunds of gut and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/it-scored-right-away-with-me-by-being-the-smooth-fine-grained-sort/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [It's never pleasant to have one's unquestioning beliefs put in their historical context, as I know from experience, I can assure you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/it-s-never-pleasant-to-have-one-s-unquestioning-beliefs-put-in-their/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“Jake did a quick run-through of women in his mind, not of the ones he had known or dealt with in the past few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/jake-did-a-quick-run-through-of-women-in-his-mind-not-of-the-ones-he/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“I don't allow people of your sort to stand in my way. That's what you're leaving out of account. I'm having Christine because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/i-don-t-allow-people-of-your-sort-to-stand-in-my-way-that-s-what-you/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [If you are using an adverb, you have got the verb wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/if-you-are-using-an-adverb-you-have-got-the-verb-wrong/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Outside every fat man there is an even fatter man trying to close in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/outside-every-fat-man-there-is-an-even-fatter-man-trying-to-close-in/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“When the bishop farted we were amused to hear about it. Should the ploughboy find treasure we must be told. But when the ploughboy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/when-the-bishop-farted-we-were-amused-to-hear-about-it-should-the/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) [Explore all 102 Kingsley Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. Willard Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-gibbs/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The world that seemed so various and new, well, it does contract. One's burning desire to investigate human behavior, and to make, or imply, statements about it, does fall off. And so one does find that early works are full of energy and also full of vulgarity, crudity, and incompetence, and later works are more carefully finished, and in that sense better literary products. But . . . there's often a freshness that is missing in later works--for every gain there's a loss. I think it evens out in that way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kingsley Amis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new-well-it-does-contract-one-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behavior" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new-well-it-does-contract-one-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/kingsley-amis-5258_behavior_the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new_1252727.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/kingsley-amis-5258_behavior_the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new_1252727.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/kingsley-amis-5258_behavior_the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new_1252727.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The world that seemed so various and new, well, it does contract. One's burning desire to investigate human…” — Kingsley Amis", "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": "Kingsley Amis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The world that seemed so various...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new-well-it-does-contract-one-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-world-that-seemed-so-various-and-new-well-it-does-contract-one-s/#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 } } ] } ```