--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The circus collects the outsiders like a…" description: "\"“The circus collects the outsiders like a flame tempts moths.”\" — Laura Lam" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/laura-lam-28141_circus_the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a_1312595.jpg" --- # The circus collects the outsiders like a flame tempts moths. ![“The circus collects the outsiders like a flame tempts moths.” quote by Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/laura-lam-28141_circus_the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a_1312595.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/laura-lam-28141_circus_the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a_1312595.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/laura-lam-28141_circus_the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a_1312595.jpg) > ““The circus collects the outsiders like a flame tempts moths.”” [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A metaphor comparing how a circus draws in outsiders, similar to a flame attracting moths. **In simple terms:** Circus attracts outsiders like moths to flame. Key Takeaway Beware of alluring but potentially harmful attractions. Themes temptation exclusion danger Mood cautious reflective Type metaphorical warning When to use this quote - social gatherings - cults - marketing events Key Concepts magnetism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What draws you into marginal groups? - How can you resist seductive dangers? A Different Perspective Attraction can be manipulative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus/) [Circus Collects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus-collects-4347415/) [Collects Outsiders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collects-outsiders-4347417/) [Flame Tempts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flame-tempts-4347418/) [Outsiders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outsiders/) [Pantomime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pantomime/) [Tempts Moths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tempts-moths-4347416/) ## Related quotes > [Although most informed balletomanes would place artistry above technique, artistry without a strong technique is a flaccid, bloodless thing indeed, whereas technique without much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-simon/although-most-informed-balletomanes-would-place-artistry-above/) [John Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-simon/) > [I've been very fortunate. I've been in theater, films, television, radio, tragedy, comedy, farce - I've been in a musical and in music halls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sinden/i-ve-been-very-fortunate-i-ve-been-in-theater-films-television-radio/) [Donald Sinden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sinden/) > [We were raised right in the heart of the Bogside. Everything was so bad at the time that Mammy would bring us to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronagh-gallagher/we-were-raised-right-in-the-heart-of-the-bogside-everything-was-so/) [Bronagh Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronagh-gallagher/) > [“A magician creates magic and mesmerizes the audience. But it is a pantomime, and the audience knows that it’s a ruse. It’s in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/a-magician-creates-magic-and-mesmerizes-the-audience-but-it-is-a/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“The circus had been unlike anything I could ever imagine and I could not walk away. I wanted to be a part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/the-circus-had-been-unlike-anything-i-could-ever-imagine-and-i-could/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“The most amusing thing about a pantomime horse is the necessity of having to shoot it twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aylett/the-most-amusing-thing-about-a-pantomime-horse-is-the-necessity-of/) [Steve Aylett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aylett/) > [Remember that although they may speak a different language, they are still the same kind of people as the folks you know at home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-byam/remember-that-although-they-may-speak-a-different-language-they-are/) [Wally Byam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-byam/) > [Because of my language and the pantomime with which most Europeans accompany their speech, I was catalogued as a heavy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/because-of-my-language-and-the-pantomime-with-which-most-europeans/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [And then he danced,-all foreigners excel the serious Angels in the eloquence of pantomime;-he danced, I say, right well, with emphasis, and a'so with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/and-then-he-danced-all-foreigners-excel-the-serious-angels-in-the/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [A lot of actors won't do things because they say it is boring when you are always working. A lot of them won't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-spinetti/a-lot-of-actors-won-t-do-things-because-they-say-it-is-boring-when/) [Victor Spinetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-spinetti/) > [If you're trying to learn how to act from a class, you're analyzing the teachers' movements and their intricacies, and it becomes like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/if-you-re-trying-to-learn-how-to-act-from-a-class-you-re-analyzing/) [Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/) > [In fact, one was so booked out we went from March and were to go till November, but the pantomime was booked so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-wisdom/in-fact-one-was-so-booked-out-we-went-from-march-and-were-to-go-till/) [Norman Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-wisdom/) > [PANTOMIME, n. A play in which the story is told without violence to the language. The least disagreeable form of dramatic action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/pantomime-n-a-play-in-which-the-story-is-told-without-violence-to-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I saw Marti Pellow in pantomime in Glasgow one time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-capaldi/i-saw-marti-pellow-in-pantomime-in-glasgow-one-time/) [Lewis Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-capaldi/) > [“All children in those small-town, unhurried days had a vast inner life going on in the movies. Children were allowed to go without chaperone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/all-children-in-those-small-town-unhurried-days-had-a-vast-inner-life/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## More by Laura Lam > [“A good magician’s performance tells a story. Each act should build on the next, becoming ever more engaging to fill the audience with wonder.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/a-good-magician-s-performance-tells-a-story-each-act-should-build-on/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“Oftentimes the answers that you seek are not the ones you are expecting to receive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/oftentimes-the-answers-that-you-seek-are-not-the-ones-you-are/) [Laura lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“There is no one way to be a magician any more than there is only one way to be human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/there-is-no-one-way-to-be-a-magician-any-more-than-there-is-only-one/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“A magician creates magic and mesmerizes the audience. But it is a pantomime, and the audience knows that it’s a ruse. It’s in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/a-magician-creates-magic-and-mesmerizes-the-audience-but-it-is-a/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“Dreams hold the answers, even if the questions are not yet known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/dreams-hold-the-answers-even-if-the-questions-are-not-yet-known/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“I’d rather go and make my own way than have it decided for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/i-d-rather-go-and-make-my-own-way-than-have-it-decided-for-me/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“Your whole life, you are told what is right and what is wrong. What you should do and what you should not do. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/your-whole-life-you-are-told-what-is-right-and-what-is-wrong-what-you/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“The circus had been unlike anything I could ever imagine and I could not walk away. I wanted to be a part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/the-circus-had-been-unlike-anything-i-could-ever-imagine-and-i-could/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“Love? Love is like holding water in your hands. You might have it for a time, but it escapes, leaving you with nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/love-love-is-like-holding-water-in-your-hands-you-might-have-it-for-a/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“I was just thinking how the purr of a contented cat is one of my favorite sounds in the world. There's something so comforting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/i-was-just-thinking-how-the-purr-of-a-contented-cat-is-one-of-my/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“So many men and women I have wronged, reduced to ghosts and shades. They surround me, but I can never let them know I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/so-many-men-and-women-i-have-wronged-reduced-to-ghosts-and-shades/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“Never are we as honest as at night, alone with thoughts and nightmares.” Elladan Proverb The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/never-are-we-as-honest-as-at-night-alone-with-thoughts-and-nightmares/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“I felt as though my mind and heart had been dragged through a thicket of rose bushes and caught on every little thorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/i-felt-as-though-my-mind-and-heart-had-been-dragged-through-a-thicket/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“Never are we as honest as at night, alone with thoughts and nightmares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/never-are-we-as-honest-as-at-night-alone-with-thoughts-and-nightmares-2/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) > [“You two are children almost grown. Your hearts have not hardened to the realities of the world. Your dreams have not fallen through your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/you-two-are-children-almost-grown-your-hearts-have-not-hardened-to/) [Laura Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) [Explore all 19 Laura Lam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/) ## More Circus quotes > [I would have done well as a gypsy child, I think. A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [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/) > [In Roslyn, Pennsylvania, we started our real-life family circus. They provided the inspiration for my cartoons. I provided the perspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bil-keane/in-roslyn-pennsylvania-we-started-our-real-life-family-circus-they/) [Bil Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bil-keane/) > [Circus clown. That's a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/circus-clown-that-s-a-new-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [When I was 18 I worked with the Ringling Brothers circus, taking care of menagerie animals. I used to rather deliberately risk my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/when-i-was-18-i-worked-with-the-ringling-brothers-circus-taking-care/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/writing-is-for-men-who-can-think-and-feel-not-mindless-sensation/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [“If i'm gonna be described as a clown for my actions, I might aswell be a whole circus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bee/if-i-m-gonna-be-described-as-a-clown-for-my-actions-i-might-aswell-be/) [Bee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bee/) > [I've had 79 to 80 years of show business. I started when I was 5 with a man called Tom Mix. I didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sidney/i-ve-had-79-to-80-years-of-show-business-i-started-when-i-was-5-with/) [George Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sidney/) > [When I'm on stage, it's really intense. My mind is going a million miles an hour, trying to remember my act, trying to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/when-i-m-on-stage-it-s-really-intense-my-mind-is-going-a-million/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I unconsciously decided that, even if it wasn't an ideal world, it should be. So I painted only the ideal aspects of it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rockwell/i-unconsciously-decided-that-even-if-it-wasn-t-an-ideal-world-it/) [Norman Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rockwell/) > [The circus tent was flowing pale in the rain like a fleshy flower lit from within. It seemed to bloom in the downpour. Drops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/the-circus-tent-was-flowing-pale-in-the-rain-like-a-fleshy-flower-lit/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [My father used to describe how he'd love going, early in the morning, out on a location and waiting for the trucks to arrive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-broccoli/my-father-used-to-describe-how-he-d-love-going-early-in-the-morning/) [Barbara Broccoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-broccoli/) [Browse all 606 Circus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The circus collects the outsiders like a flame tempts moths.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Laura Lam" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a-flame-tempts-moths/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Circus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a-flame-tempts-moths/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/laura-lam-28141_circus_the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a_1312595.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/laura-lam-28141_circus_the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a_1312595.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b01/laura-lam-28141_circus_the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a_1312595.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The circus collects the outsiders like a flame tempts moths.” — Laura Lam", "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": "Laura Lam", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lam/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The circus collects the outsiders like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a-flame-tempts-moths/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lam/the-circus-collects-the-outsiders-like-a-flame-tempts-moths/#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 } } ] } ```