--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot remember a time when I was not…" description: "\"I cannot remember a time when I was not enraptured or tortured by words. Always there have been words which, sometimes for their sound alone, sometimes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/mary-butts-23972_action_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2822223.jpg" --- # I cannot remember a time when I was not enraptured or… ![“I cannot remember a time when I was not enraptured or tortured by words. Always there have been words which, sometimes for their sound alone, sometimes for their sound and sense, I would not use. From a loathing of their grossness or sickliness, their weight or want of weight. Their inexactitude…” quote by Mary Butts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/mary-butts-23972_action_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2822223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/mary-butts-23972_action_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2822223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52d/mary-butts-23972_action_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2822223.jpg) > “I cannot remember a time when I was not enraptured or tortured by words. Always there have been words which, sometimes for their sound alone, sometimes for their sound and sense, I would not use. From a loathing of their grossness or sickliness, their weight or want of weight. Their inexactitude, their feeling of acidity or insipidity. Their action, not only on the intelligence but on the nerves, was instant.” [Mary Butts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-butts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words possess a powerful, sometimes contradictory, impact on mind and emotions, evoking both beauty and discomfort. **In simple terms:** Words can be beautiful or painful. Key Takeaway Choose words with awareness of their effect. Themes language emotion artistry Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - public speaking - therapy - education Key Concepts aesthetics psychology literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which words to use? - When can restraint be more powerful than expression? A Different Perspective Overanalysis of words can hinder spontaneous expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Inexactitude Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inexactitude-feeling-3599271/) [Instant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Loathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loathing/) [Nerves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerves/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tortured Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tortured-words-3599270/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-sound-862419/) [Words Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-words/) ## Related quotes > [This is not the end, this is not the beginning. 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All words sound hollow when one listens to them carefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-david-neel/there-is-nothing-truly-serious-in-life-all-words-sound-hollow-when/) [Alexandra David-Neel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-david-neel/) > [“At first when you're learning a foreign language, what seems strange is that a different set of words exists for the things you know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-grant/at-first-when-you-re-learning-a-foreign-language-what-seems-strange/) [Stephanie Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-grant/) > [It's definitely about the rhythm of the words and how they sound together, writing one sentence and then another and another and cutting something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-miller/it-s-definitely-about-the-rhythm-of-the-words-and-how-they-sound/) [Mary J. 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