--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...if you do not plunder the past, the…" description: "\"“...if you do not plunder the past, the absence feeds on you”\" — Michael Ondaatje" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6eb/michael-ondaatje-940_absence_if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absen_2899076.png" --- # ...if you do not plunder the past, the absence feeds on you ![“...if you do not plunder the past, the absence feeds on you” quote by Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6eb/michael-ondaatje-940_absence_if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absen_2899076.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6eb/michael-ondaatje-940_absence_if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absen_2899076.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6eb/michael-ondaatje-940_absence_if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absen_2899076.png) > ““...if you do not plunder the past, the absence feeds on you”” [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignoring history leads to personal emptiness; the past must be acknowledged to avoid being consumed by its absence. **In simple terms:** Neglecting history leaves a void. Key Takeaway Study history to inform present actions. Themes memory history identity Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - academic research - cultural preservation Key Concepts literature philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What parts of the past shape you? - How can we honor history without being trapped? A Different Perspective Some may view this as fatalistic, ignoring agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Absence feeds affection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/absence-feeds-affection/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [A man in a desert can hold absence in his cupped hands, knowing it is something that feeds him more than water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/a-man-in-a-desert-can-hold-absence-in-his-cupped-hands-knowing-it-is/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. 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Personally, I cannot imagine a more alarming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/there-are-people-who-think-that-plunder-loses-all-its-immorality-as/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [The business of obscuring language is a mask behind which stands the much bigger business of plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-business-of-obscuring-language-is-a-mask-behind-which-stands-the/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“Private property based on the labour of the small proprietor, free competition, democracy, i.e., all the catchwords with which the capitalists and their press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/private-property-based-on-the-labour-of-the-small-proprietor-free/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [Why, I say, that to tax the community for the advantage of a class is not protection; it is plunder, and I entirely disclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/why-i-say-that-to-tax-the-community-for-the-advantage-of-a-class-is/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Sometimes the law defends plunder and participates in it. 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Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...if you do not plunder the past, the absence feeds on you”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Ondaatje" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absence-feeds-on-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absence-feeds-on-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6eb/michael-ondaatje-940_absence_if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absen_2899076.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6eb/michael-ondaatje-940_absence_if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absen_2899076.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6eb/michael-ondaatje-940_absence_if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absen_2899076.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...if you do not plunder the past, the absence feeds on you” — Michael Ondaatje", "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": "Michael Ondaatje", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...if you do not plunder the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absence-feeds-on-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/if-you-do-not-plunder-the-past-the-absence-feeds-on-you/#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 } } ] } ```