--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact is that I have lived with the…" description: "\"The fact is that I have lived with the belief that power, any kind of power, was the one thing forbidden to poets. ... Power requires that the inner pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/may-sarton-897_belief_the-fact-is-that-i-have-lived-with-the-b_1907954.jpg" --- # The fact is that I have lived with the belief that power… ![“The fact is that I have lived with the belief that power, any kind of power, was the one thing forbidden to poets. ... Power requires that the inner person never be unmasked. No, we poets have to go naked. And since this is so, it is better that we stay private people; a naked public person would…” quote by May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/may-sarton-897_belief_the-fact-is-that-i-have-lived-with-the-b_1907954.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/may-sarton-897_belief_the-fact-is-that-i-have-lived-with-the-b_1907954.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c4/may-sarton-897_belief_the-fact-is-that-i-have-lived-with-the-b_1907954.jpg) > “The fact is that I have lived with the belief that power, any kind of power, was the one thing forbidden to poets. ... Power requires that the inner person never be unmasked. No, we poets have to go naked. And since this is so, it is better that we stay private people; a naked public person would be rather ridiculous, what?” [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets must remain vulnerable and private because power demands concealment, so they should expose their true selves. **In simple terms:** Poets should stay honest and hidden, not seek power. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity over influence. Themes vulnerability privacy power authenticity Mood reflective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - public speaking - personal branding - political activism Key Concepts existentialism literary theory Questions to Reflect On - How does secrecy affect creative work? - Is privacy essential for true expression? A Different Perspective Power can corrupt artistic integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Forbidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forbidden/) [Forbidden Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forbidden-poets-2855215/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Naked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naked/) [Naked Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naked-public-396113/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets Naked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-naked-2855214/) [Poets Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-power-2232086/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Stay Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-private/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [The age-old faith of lovers and poets in the power of love, stronger than death, that Finis vitae sed non amoris, is a lie,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/the-age-old-faith-of-lovers-and-poets-in-the-power-of-love-stronger/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [“But the most dangerous consequence of the naked public square is the loss of community.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-colson/but-the-most-dangerous-consequence-of-the-naked-public-square-is-the/) [Charles W. Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-colson/) > [My job as art critic is to watch artists dance naked in public, and then I will, in turn, dance naked critically in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/my-job-as-art-critic-is-to-watch-artists-dance-naked-in-public-and/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [“The naked public square cannot remain naked, the direction is toward the state-as-church, toward totalitarianism.”6”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-colson/the-naked-public-square-cannot-remain-naked-the-direction-is-toward/) [Charles W. Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-colson/) > [“Writing books is a socially acceptable form of getting naked in public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/writing-books-is-a-socially-acceptable-form-of-getting-naked-in-public/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Writing is a socially acceptable form of getting naked in public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/writing-is-a-socially-acceptable-form-of-getting-naked-in-public/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Richard John Neuhaus, in his well-known book The Naked Public Square, tells us that in America, the public square has become openly hostile to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/richard-john-neuhaus-in-his-well-known-book-the-naked-public-square/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [“We live in a society in which all transcendent values have been removed and thus there is no moral standard by which anyone can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-colson/we-live-in-a-society-in-which-all-transcendent-values-have-been/) [Charles W. Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-colson/) > [I went public too soon. Stay private as long as you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-went-public-too-soon-stay-private-as-long-as-you-can/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I hate when people bash their parents on social networking sites, family issues should stay private. Have some respect please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-people-bash-their-parents-on-social-networking-sites/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Libertarians believe that the government should stay out of private lives on issues that don't have a bearing on society as a whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/libertarians-believe-that-the-government-should-stay-out-of-private/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [The most important thing for us is investing and making companies great, and then they have all the options they want, whether that's to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sze/the-most-important-thing-for-us-is-investing-and-making-companies/) [David Sze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sze/) > [I try to stay as private as possible; I know that's difficult, especially playing here in New York, but I make an attempt at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jeter/i-try-to-stay-as-private-as-possible-i-know-that-s-difficult/) [Derek Jeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jeter/) > [Sometimes, fame does scare me. When people know where you are and what you're doing, that can be frightening because I'm such a private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poppy-delevingne/sometimes-fame-does-scare-me-when-people-know-where-you-are-and-what/) [Poppy Delevingne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poppy-delevingne/) > [I am a public person and I have my private life. It's important for me that my private life stay private, that what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/i-am-a-public-person-and-i-have-my-private-life-it-s-important-for-me/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) ## More by May Sarton > [“I felt pain like an assault, The old pain again When the world thrusts itself inside, When we have to take in the outside,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-felt-pain-like-an-assault-the-old-pain-again-when-the-world-thrusts/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Most people have to talk so they won't hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/most-people-have-to-talk-so-they-won-t-hear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [This suspension of one's own reality, this being entirely alone in a strange city (at times I wondered if I had lost the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/this-suspension-of-one-s-own-reality-this-being-entirely-alone-in-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-must-think-like-a-hero-to-behave-like-a-merely-decent-human-being/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Real joy is becoming exceedingly rare among artists of any kind. And I have an idea that those who can and do communicate it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/real-joy-is-becoming-exceedingly-rare-among-artists-of-any-kind-and-i/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For to be desperate is to discover strength. / We die of comfort and by conflict live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-to-be-desperate-is-to-discover-strength-we-die-of-comfort-and-by/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“I see you with that shell Held to your sensitive abstracted ear, Hunting the ocean’s rumor till you hear it well, Until you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-see-you-with-that-shell-held-to-your-sensitive-abstracted-ear/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [There is a wilder solitude in winter When every sense is pricked alive and keen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/there-is-a-wilder-solitude-in-winter-when-every-sense-is-pricked/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs is the work of hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-long-for-the-bulbs-to-arrive-for-the-early-autumn-chores-are/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Why is it that people who cannot show feeling presume that that is a strength and not a weakness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/why-is-it-that-people-who-cannot-show-feeling-presume-that-that-is-a/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [Innocence is not pure so much as pleased, Always expectant, bright-eyed, self-enclosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/innocence-is-not-pure-so-much-as-pleased-always-expectant-bright-eyed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I have written every poem, every novel, for the same purpose-to find out what I think, to know where I stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-have-written-every-poem-every-novel-for-the-same-purpose-to-find/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [For art is order, but it is born out of the chaos of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/for-art-is-order-but-it-is-born-out-of-the-chaos-of-life/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [all great people are humble because great people have great work and are humbled by the largeness of their dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/all-great-people-are-humble-because-great-people-have-great-work-and/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) [Explore all 336 May Sarton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Rigid traditions capture souls prisons of spiritual thought man’s religion has captured a god grown too small and very weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle/rigid-traditions-capture-souls-prisons-of-spiritual-thought-man-s/) [David W Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [In business, as in politics, it is never easy to go against the beliefs and attitudes held by the majority. The businessman who moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/in-business-as-in-politics-it-is-never-easy-to-go-against-the-beliefs/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [There's no greatest moment in the arts. It's a life; it's a continuity thing. You can't have a great moment because it's spiritual. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/there-s-no-greatest-moment-in-the-arts-it-s-a-life-it-s-a-continuity/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 10,268 Belief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fact is that I have lived with the belief that power, any kind of power, was the one thing forbidden to poets. ... Power requires that the inner person never be unmasked. No, we poets have to go naked. 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