--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In every important way we are such…" description: "\"“In every important way we are such secrets from one another, and I do believe that there is a separate language in each of us, also a separate aesthet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/marilynne-robinson-602_beauty_in-every-important-way-we-are-such-secre_450226.png" --- # In every important way we are such secrets from one… ![“In every important way we are such secrets from one another, and I do believe that there is a separate language in each of us, also a separate aesthetics and a separate jurisprudence. Every single one of us is a little civilization built on the ruins of any number of preceding civilizations, but…” quote by Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/marilynne-robinson-602_beauty_in-every-important-way-we-are-such-secre_450226.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/marilynne-robinson-602_beauty_in-every-important-way-we-are-such-secre_450226.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/marilynne-robinson-602_beauty_in-every-important-way-we-are-such-secre_450226.png) > ““In every important way we are such secrets from one another, and I do believe that there is a separate language in each of us, also a separate aesthetics and a separate jurisprudence. Every single one of us is a little civilization built on the ruins of any number of preceding civilizations, but with our own variant notions of what is beautiful and what is acceptable - which, I hasten to add, we generally do not satisfy and by which we struggle to live. We take fortuitous resemblances among us to be actual likeness, because those around us have also fallen heir to the same customs, trade in the same coin, acknowledge, more or less, the same notions of decency and sanity. But all that really just allows us to coexist with the inviolable, intraversable, and utterly vast spaces between us.”” [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans are isolated individuals each with unique inner worlds and values, yet we cling to superficial similarities to feel connected, ignoring the profound gaps between us. **In simple terms:** People are fundamentally different despite surface likenesses. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect deep personal differences. Themes identity isolation culture communication Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - multicultural teams - therapy sessions - conflict resolution Key Concepts existentialism subjectivity social constructivism Questions to Reflect On - How do you bridge the gap between surface similarity and deep understanding? - What personal " do you share with others? A Different Perspective Superficial similarities can mask deeper misunderstandings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetics Separate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetics-separate-3931395/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilizations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilizations/) [Resemblances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resemblances-1024061/) [Separate Aesthetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separate-aesthetics-3931396/) ## Related quotes > [“Not that I would reject those resemblances of the human figure which are engraven in brass or marbles but as their originals are frail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/not-that-i-would-reject-those-resemblances-of-the-human-figure-which/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Resemblances are the shadows of differences. Different people see different similarities and similar differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/resemblances-are-the-shadows-of-differences-different-people-see/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [HAVE ANYONE EVER NOTICE THIS BLUE IVY AND DRAKE RESEMBLANCES ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asheya/have-anyone-ever-notice-this-blue-ivy-and-drake-resemblances/) [Asheya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asheya/) > [Every single one of us is a little civilization built on the ruins of any number of preceding civilizations, but with our own variant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/every-single-one-of-us-is-a-little-civilization-built-on-the-ruins-of/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [The lover never sees personal resemblances in his mistress to her kindred or to others. His friends find in her a likeness to hermother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-lover-never-sees-personal-resemblances-in-his-mistress-to-her/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Your own family resemblances are a frustrating code, most easily read by those who know you least.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/your-own-family-resemblances-are-a-frustrating-code-most-easily-read/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“I find myself nursing keen regret at probably not being able to live long enough to explain properly to you what I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/comte-de-lautr-amont/i-find-myself-nursing-keen-regret-at-probably-not-being-able-to-live/) [Comte de Lautréamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/comte-de-lautr-amont/) > [“Man's gift of seeing resemblances is nothing other than a rudiment of the powerful compulsion in former times to become and behave like something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/man-s-gift-of-seeing-resemblances-is-nothing-other-than-a-rudiment-of/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Dreams are like portraits; and we find they please because they are confessed resemblances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/dreams-are-like-portraits-and-we-find-they-please-because-they-are/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [Knowledge comes from noticing resemblances and recurrences in the events that happen around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/knowledge-comes-from-noticing-resemblances-and-recurrences-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When she is older she will see in these resemblances a regrettable uniformity among individuals (they all stop at the same spots to kiss,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/when-she-is-older-she-will-see-in-these-resemblances-a-regrettable/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [That is the key to history. Terrific energy is expended - civilizations are built up - excellent institutions devised; but each time something goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/that-is-the-key-to-history-terrific-energy-is-expended-civilizations/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All the civilizations we know have been created and directed by small intellectual aristocracies, never by people in the mass. The power of crowds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/all-the-civilizations-we-know-have-been-created-and-directed-by-small/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [Each succeeding civilization forgets its predecessor. Civilizations are ghouls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/each-succeeding-civilization-forgets-its-predecessor-civilizations/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More by Marilynne Robinson > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“I think sometimes there might be an advantage in making people aware how worn and stale these old transgressions are. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/faith-for-her-was-habit-and-family-loyalty-a-reverence-for-the-bible/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Prayer is a discipline in truthfulness, in honesty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/prayer-is-a-discipline-in-truthfulness-in-honesty/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.’ There are pleasures to be found where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/the-full-soul-loatheth-an-honeycomb-but-to-the-hungry-soul-every/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I sometimes am discouraged by what seems to be a sort of conventional disparagement of humankind. I think often people feel that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-sometimes-am-discouraged-by-what-seems-to-be-a-sort-of-conventional/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Now that I look back, it seems to me that in all that deep darkness a miracle was preparing. So I am right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/now-that-i-look-back-it-seems-to-me-that-in-all-that-deep-darkness-a/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“My grandfather once told her if you couldn't read with cold feet, there wouldn't be a literate soul in the state of Maine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-grandfather-once-told-her-if-you-couldn-t-read-with-cold-feet/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Cranky old Leviticus gave us—gave Christ—not only “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” but also the rather forgotten “Thou shalt love the stranger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/cranky-old-leviticus-gave-us-gave-christ-not-only-thou-shalt-love-thy/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Explore all 450 Marilynne Robinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) [Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In every important way we are such secrets from one another, and I do believe that there is a separate language in each of us, also a separate aesthetics and a separate jurisprudence. 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