--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The past is only the present become…" description: "\"“The past is only the present become invisible and mute; its memoried glances and its murmurs are infinitely precious.”\" — Mary Webb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/mary-webb-17175_memories_the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invi_2321118.png" --- # The past is only the present become invisible and mute… ![“The past is only the present become invisible and mute; its memoried glances and its murmurs are infinitely precious.” quote by Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/mary-webb-17175_memories_the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invi_2321118.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/mary-webb-17175_memories_the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invi_2321118.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/mary-webb-17175_memories_the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invi_2321118.png) > ““The past is only the present become invisible and mute; its memoried glances and its murmurs are infinitely precious.”” [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The past becomes invisible, yet its hidden memories are priceless. **In simple terms:** Forgotten past holds precious memories. Key Takeaway Value unseen past lessons. Themes memory time value Mood melancholic hopeful Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - heritage preservation - personal reflection - storytelling Key Concepts nostalgia impermanence preciousness Questions to Reflect On - What invisible memories guide you? - How can you honor past while living now? A Different Perspective May romanticize past without present focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Infinitely Precious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinitely-precious-394366/) [Invisible Mute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisible-mute-5548660/) [Memoried Glances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoried-glances-1137827/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Mute Memoried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mute-memoried-5548659/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Present Invisible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-invisible-1137826/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“That vivid present of theirs, how faint it grows! The past is only the present become invisible and mute, and because it is invisible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/that-vivid-present-of-theirs-how-faint-it-grows-the-past-is-only-the/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [The past is only the present become invisible and mute; and because it is invisible and mute, its memorized glances and its murmurs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invisible-and-mute-and-because-it/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/faith-enables-the-believing-soul-to-treat-the-future-as-present-and/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [The present is always invisible because its environmental. No environment is perceptible, simply because it saturates the whole field of attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-present-is-always-invisible-because-its-environmental-no/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [A thing which is present can be invisible, hidden by what it shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-magritte/a-thing-which-is-present-can-be-invisible-hidden-by-what-it-shows/) [Rene Magritte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-magritte/) > [Each and every event in the past is connected to the present by invisible threads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/momofuku-ando/each-and-every-event-in-the-past-is-connected-to-the-present-by/) [Momofuku Ando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/momofuku-ando/) > [I'm always looking for things that are so incredibly present that they become invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-m-always-looking-for-things-that-are-so-incredibly-present-that/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. - Oscar Wilde”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merrill-gemus/in-your-soul-are-infinitely-precious-things-that-cannot-be-taken-from-2/) [Merrill Gemus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merrill-gemus/) > [“In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-your-soul-are-infinitely-precious-things-that-cannot-be-taken-from/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Just being alive, staying human, I think that's infinitely precious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-redgrave/just-being-alive-staying-human-i-think-that-s-infinitely-precious/) [Vanessa Redgrave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-redgrave/) > [The truths of the Judaic-Christian tradition, are infinitely precious, not only, as I believe, because they are true, but also because they provide the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/the-truths-of-the-judaic-christian-tradition-are-infinitely-precious/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [The knowledge that every day there is something more to learn, something higher to reach for, something new to make for others, makes each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-hagen/the-knowledge-that-every-day-there-is-something-more-to-learn/) [Uta Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-hagen/) > [“You are infinitely precious because you are loved by God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/you-are-infinitely-precious-because-you-are-loved-by-god/) [Fulton J. 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He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [There is surely no more unselfish person than the anthologist. For while all we others are striving to ensure our own immortality with eagerness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-surely-no-more-unselfish-person-than-the-anthologist-for/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [But when you dwell in a house you mislike, you will look out of a window a deal more than those that are content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/but-when-you-dwell-in-a-house-you-mislike-you-will-look-out-of-a/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [Saddle your dreams before you ride em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/saddle-your-dreams-before-you-ride-em/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [For the world is founded and built up on death, and the reality of death is neither to be questioned nor feared. 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In blue the spirit can wander, but in green it can rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/green-is-the-fresh-emblem-of-well-founded-hopes-in-blue-the-spirit/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [“He was ever a strong man, which is almost the same, times, as to say a man with little time for kindness. For if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/he-was-ever-a-strong-man-which-is-almost-the-same-times-as-to-say-a/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [The love of nature is a passion for those in whom it once lodges. It can never be quenched. It cannot change. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/the-love-of-nature-is-a-passion-for-those-in-whom-it-once-lodges-it/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [“You wasn't made like watch-dogs and house-cats and cows. You was made a fox, and you be a fox, and its queer-like to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/you-wasn-t-made-like-watch-dogs-and-house-cats-and-cows-you-was-made/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) [Explore all 35 Mary Webb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) ## More Memories 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/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [What keeps me motivated is not the food itself but all the bonds and memories the food represents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chiarello/what-keeps-me-motivated-is-not-the-food-itself-but-all-the-bonds-and/) [Michael Chiarello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chiarello/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [Children, Never look Back!" and this meant that we must never allow the future to be weighed down by memory . for children have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/children-never-look-back-and-this-meant-that-we-must-never-allow-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) [Browse all 11,132 Memories quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The past is only the present become invisible and mute; its memoried glances and its murmurs are infinitely precious.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Webb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invisible-and-mute-its-memoried/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Memories" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invisible-and-mute-its-memoried/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/mary-webb-17175_memories_the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invi_2321118.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/mary-webb-17175_memories_the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invi_2321118.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5e/mary-webb-17175_memories_the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invi_2321118.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The past is only the present become invisible and mute; its memoried glances and its murmurs are infinitely…” — Mary Webb", "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": "Mary Webb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The past is only the present...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invisible-and-mute-its-memoried/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/the-past-is-only-the-present-become-invisible-and-mute-its-memoried/#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 } } ] } ```