--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a country is defeated, there remain…" description: "\"“When a country is defeated, there remain only mountains and rivers, and on a ruined castle in spring only grasses thrive. I sat down on my hat and wep..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/matsuo-basho-7207_change_when-a-country-is-defeated-there-remain_1457160.jpg" --- # When a country is defeated, there remain only mountains… ![“When a country is defeated, there remain only mountains and rivers, and on a ruined castle in spring only grasses thrive. I sat down on my hat and wept bitterly till I almost forgot time. A thicket of summer grass Is all that remains Of the dreams and ambitions Of ancient warriors.” quote by Matsuo Bashō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/matsuo-basho-7207_change_when-a-country-is-defeated-there-remain_1457160.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/matsuo-basho-7207_change_when-a-country-is-defeated-there-remain_1457160.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c72/matsuo-basho-7207_change_when-a-country-is-defeated-there-remain_1457160.jpg) > ““When a country is defeated, there remain only mountains and rivers, and on a ruined castle in spring only grasses thrive. I sat down on my hat and wept bitterly till I almost forgot time. A thicket of summer grass Is all that remains Of the dreams and ambitions Of ancient warriors.”” [Matsuo Bashō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The devastation of war leaves only nature's remnants, symbolizing loss of human ambition and memory of past warriors. **In simple terms:** War ruins everything but nature survives. Key Takeaway Recognize impermanence and find peace in simple nature. Themes impermanence war nature loss memory Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - war aftermath - grief processing - historical study - environmental appreciation Key Concepts Buddhist philosophy transience historical reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do you find solace in nature after loss? - What does the persistence of grass teach about resilience? A Different Perspective Nature alone cannot heal deep societal trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [A thicket of summer grass / Is all that remains / Of the dreams of ancient warriors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/a-thicket-of-summer-grass-is-all-that-remains-of-the-dreams-of/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [“War and ceasefire There was a war followed by a ceasefire, Swaths of land lay covered in ashes and dead men and women, Beside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-followed-by-a-ceasefire-swaths-of/) [Javid Ahmad Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javid-ahmad-tak/) > [“War and ceasefire There was a war followed by a ceasefire, Land covered in ash, dead men and women, Beside the dead were unfulfilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javid-ahmad-tak/war-and-ceasefire-there-was-a-war-followed-by-a-ceasefire-land/) [Javid Ahmad Tak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javid-ahmad-tak/) > [It's fine to criticize somebody else's crimes and misdeeds, but you don't talk about your own. The only exception is a country that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-fine-to-criticize-somebody-else-s-crimes-and-misdeeds-but-you/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [So you shun me? - you shut yourself up and grieve alone! I would rather you had come and upbraided me with vehemence. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/so-you-shun-me-you-shut-yourself-up-and-grieve-alone-i-would-rather/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ “At the top of the page I wrote my full name \[...\] At the sight of it, many thoughts rushed through me, but I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/at-the-top-of-the-page-i-wrote-my-full-name-at-the-sight-of-it-many/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [We have wept enough. No more weeping, but stand on feet and be men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-have-wept-enough-no-more-weeping-but-stand-on-feet-and-be-men/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I wept like a child. It was not because I was overcome at having survived my ordeal, though I was. Nor was it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-wept-like-a-child-it-was-not-because-i-was-overcome-at-having/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [I wept not — so to stone I grew within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/i-wept-not-so-to-stone-i-grew-within/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“The world wept a silent, windless downpour, a befitting accompaniment to the arrival of death. 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It feels like tears. Let me stay a while longer, I pray you. It has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-rain-feels-good-against-my-face-sam-it-feels-like-tears-let-me/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) ## More by Matsuo Bashō > [Go to the pine if you want to learn about the pine, or to the bamboo if you want to learn about the bamboo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/go-to-the-pine-if-you-want-to-learn-about-the-pine-or-to-the-bamboo/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [Without the bitterest cold that penetrates to the very bone, how can plum blossoms send forth their fragrance to the whole world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/without-the-bitterest-cold-that-penetrates-to-the-very-bone-how-can/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [Do not resemble me-Never be like a musk melon Cut in two identical halves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/do-not-resemble-me-never-be-like-a-musk-melon-cut-in-two-identical/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [When I speak My lips feel cold - The autumn wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/when-i-speak-my-lips-feel-cold-the-autumn-wind/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [“In the end, without skill or talent, I've given myself over entirely to poetry. 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Seek what they sought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/do-not-seek-to-follow-in-the-footsteps-of-the-wise-seek-what-they/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [Learn the rules, and then forget them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/learn-the-rules-and-then-forget-them/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [Go to the object. Leave your subjective preoccupation with yourself. Do not impose yourself on the object. Become one with the object. Plunge deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/go-to-the-object-leave-your-subjective-preoccupation-with-yourself-do/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [A weathered skeleton in windy fields of memory, piercing like a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/a-weathered-skeleton-in-windy-fields-of-memory-piercing-like-a-knife/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [the universe and its beings are a complementarity of empty infinity, intimate interrelationships, and total uniqueness of each and every being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/the-universe-and-its-beings-are-a-complementarity-of-empty-infinity/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [The old pond, ah! A frog jumps in: The water's sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/the-old-pond-ah-a-frog-jumps-in-the-water-s-sound/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [Without bitterest cold that penetrates to the very bone, how can plum blossoms send forth their fragrance all over the world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/without-bitterest-cold-that-penetrates-to-the-very-bone-how-can-plum/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) [Explore all 93 Matsuo Bashō quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. 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