--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We say that we often see animals in our…" description: "\"We say that we often see animals in our dreams, but we forget that almost always we are ourselves animals therein, deprived of that reasoning power whi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/marcel-proust-114_animal_we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our_2785448.jpg" --- # We say that we often see animals in our dreams, but we… ![“We say that we often see animals in our dreams, but we forget that almost always we are ourselves animals therein, deprived of that reasoning power which projects upon things the light of certainty; on the contrary we bring to bear on the spectacle of life only a dubious vision, extinguished anew…” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/marcel-proust-114_animal_we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our_2785448.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/marcel-proust-114_animal_we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our_2785448.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/marcel-proust-114_animal_we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our_2785448.jpg) > “We say that we often see animals in our dreams, but we forget that almost always we are ourselves animals therein, deprived of that reasoning power which projects upon things the light of certainty; on the contrary we bring to bear on the spectacle of life only a dubious vision, extinguished anew every moment by oblivion, the former reality fading before that which follows it as one projection of a magic lantern fades before the next as we change the slide.” [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We project certainty onto life, but reality is fleeting and uncertain. **In simple terms:** Life is an ever‑changing illusion. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty as natural. Themes philosophy perception reality Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - mindfulness practice - creative writing - psychology therapy Key Concepts epistemology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you find certainty? - What anchors your perception? A Different Perspective May induce nihilism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-dreams-3341158/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrary/) [Deprived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deprived/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-forget-2424087/) [Dubious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dubious/) [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Fades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fades/) [Fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fading/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-animals-3341160/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Lanterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lanterns/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion/) [Our dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-dreams/) [Projection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projection/) [Projects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projects/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-fading-3341159/) [Reasoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) [Slides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slides/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [ At the very least, they can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget\[...\]that they are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/at-the-very-least-they-can-be-persuaded-that-the-bodily-position-2/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“What we forget about animals we begin to forget about ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/what-we-forget-about-animals-we-begin-to-forget-about-ourselves/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live-Albus Dumbledore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jk-rowling/it-does-not-do-to-dwell-on-dreams-and-forget-to-live-albus-dumbledore/) [JK Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jk-rowling/) > [It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-does-not-do-to-dwell-on-dreams-and-forget-to-live/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My dreams are the usual incoherent nonsense. Like most writers, at some point in my career I thought, well, I have these great dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/my-dreams-are-the-usual-incoherent-nonsense-like-most-writers-at-some/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [It does not to dwell on dreams and forget to live, but it is equally foolish to ignore the past – never forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-does-not-to-dwell-on-dreams-and-forget-to-live-but-it-is-equally/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The problem with catching dreams is you forget how truly incredible they are when you live with them everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-t-hunt/the-problem-with-catching-dreams-is-you-forget-how-truly-incredible/) [Stacey T. Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-t-hunt/) > [Work hard and follow your dreams, but never forget where you came from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-hudgens/work-hard-and-follow-your-dreams-but-never-forget-where-you-came-from/) [Vanessa Hudgens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-hudgens/) > [Sometimes in order to achieve your dreams you forget to enjoy the journey of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan-sharma/sometimes-in-order-to-achieve-your-dreams-you-forget-to-enjoy-the/) [Sushan Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan-sharma/) > [We must shine with hope, stained glass windows that shape light into icons, glow like lanterns borne before a procession. Who can bear hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-must-shine-with-hope-stained-glass-windows-that-shape-light-into/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Beyond the terrace, a light breeze stirred the reeds at the edge of the pond. Looking out at this intimate vista, one could see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnham-schwartz/beyond-the-terrace-a-light-breeze-stirred-the-reeds-at-the-edge-of/) [John Burnham Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnham-schwartz/) > [In the later nineteenth century, the tops of skyscrapers often took the shape of domes, surmounted by jaunty gilded lanterns; later came ziggurats, mausoleums,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-gill/in-the-later-nineteenth-century-the-tops-of-skyscrapers-often-took/) [Brendan Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-gill/) > [The effort of the economist is to "see," to picture the interplay of economic elements. The more clearly cut these elements appear in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-fisher/the-effort-of-the-economist-is-to-see-to-picture-the-interplay-of/) [Irving Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-fisher/) > [If you light a lantern for another, it will also brighten your own way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichiren/if-you-light-a-lantern-for-another-it-will-also-brighten-your-own-way/) [Nichiren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichiren/) > [In the center of all rests the sun. For who would place this lamp of a very beautiful temple in another or better place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/in-the-center-of-all-rests-the-sun-for-who-would-place-this-lamp-of-a/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) ## More by Marcel Proust > [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We say that we often see animals in our dreams, but we forget that almost always we are ourselves animals therein, deprived of that reasoning power which projects upon things the light of certainty; on the contrary we bring to bear on the spectacle of life only a dubious vision, extinguished anew every moment by oblivion, the former reality fading before that which follows it as one projection of a magic lantern fades before the next as we change the slide.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcel Proust" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our-dreams-but-we-forget-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our-dreams-but-we-forget-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/marcel-proust-114_animal_we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our_2785448.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/marcel-proust-114_animal_we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our_2785448.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/marcel-proust-114_animal_we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our_2785448.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We say that we often see animals in our dreams, but we forget that almost always we are ourselves animals…” — Marcel Proust", "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": "Marcel Proust", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We say that we often see...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our-dreams-but-we-forget-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-say-that-we-often-see-animals-in-our-dreams-but-we-forget-that/#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 } } ] } ```