---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tradition is no longer a continuity but a…"
description: "\"Tradition is no longer a continuity but a series of sharp breaks. The modern tradition is the tradition of revolt.\" — Octavio Paz"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/octavio-paz-1790_break_tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but_1720256.jpg"
---

#  Tradition is no longer a continuity but a series of sharp…

![“Tradition is no longer a continuity but a series of sharp breaks. The modern tradition is the tradition of revolt.” quote by Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/octavio-paz-1790_break_tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but_1720256.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/octavio-paz-1790_break_tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but_1720256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/octavio-paz-1790_break_tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but_1720256.jpg)

> “Tradition is no longer a continuity but a series of sharp breaks. The modern tradition is the tradition of revolt.”

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Modern tradition breaks from continuity, embracing revolt as its defining feature.

**In simple terms:** Tradition now means breaking, not continuity.

Key Takeaway

Accept change as rebellion.

Themes

culture revolt continuity

Mood

critical inquisitive

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- art
- politics
- social movements

Key Concepts

postmodernism social upheaval

Questions to Reflect On

- What traditions have you reinvented?
- How does revolt shape culture?

A Different Perspective

Constant breaking may erode identity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Breaks Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaks-modern-1330697/) [Continuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continuity/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-tradition-1330694/) [Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolt/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Series](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/series/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Tradition Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-longer-1330696/) [Tradition Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-revolt-1330693/) [Tradition Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-tradition-1330695/)

## Related quotes

> [The odd thing about tradition is, the longer it's been going, the more people seem to take it seriously - as though sheer passage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-odd-thing-about-tradition-is-the-longer-it-s-been-going-the-more/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [I detest tradition for tradition's sake; the half-alive; that which is not real. I feel no hatred of individuals, but of customs, traditions; superstitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/i-detest-tradition-for-tradition-s-sake-the-half-alive-that-which-is/)

[Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/)

> [My true function within a society which embraces all of us is to continue an age-old tradition. This tradition is to create images from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tippett/my-true-function-within-a-society-which-embraces-all-of-us-is-to/)

[Michael Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tippett/)

> [If I belong to a tradition it is a tradition that makes the masterpiece tell the performer what he should do and not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-brendel/if-i-belong-to-a-tradition-it-is-a-tradition-that-makes-the-2/)

[Alfred Brendel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-brendel/)

> [The emphasis on original, individual work in the past years has done a great deal to produce a crop of eccentric fakes and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-french-sloan/the-emphasis-on-original-individual-work-in-the-past-years-has-done-a/)

[John French Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-french-sloan/)

> [The trouble with a series as it gets older is it can feel like a tradition, and tradition is the enemy of suspense, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/the-trouble-with-a-series-as-it-gets-older-is-it-can-feel-like-a/)

[Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/)

> [If I belong to a tradition, it is a tradition that makes the masterpiece tell the performer what to do, and not the performer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-brendel/if-i-belong-to-a-tradition-it-is-a-tradition-that-makes-the/)

[Alfred Brendel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-brendel/)

> [It's time to realise that tradition is fantastic but if because of tradition and only tradition you lose everyone it's less fantastic so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mouratoglou/it-s-time-to-realise-that-tradition-is-fantastic-but-if-because-of/)

[Patrick Mouratoglou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mouratoglou/)

> [Revolt is the violence of an entire people; rebellion the unruliness of an individual or an uprising by a minority; both are spontaneous and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/revolt-is-the-violence-of-an-entire-people-rebellion-the-unruliness/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Without discontentment, without revolt, you can never attain harmony. It is a necessary stage, which must be gone through by everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/without-discontentment-without-revolt-you-can-never-attain-harmony-it/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/every-woman-is-a-rebel-and-usually-in-wild-revolt-against-herself/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“There is a germ of revolt lying in the spirit of inquiry and critical curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-is-a-germ-of-revolt-lying-in-the-spirit-of-inquiry-and-critical/)

[André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/)

> [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see and my feet never take me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/comrades-there-is-no-true-social-revolution-without-the-liberation-of/)

[Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/)

> [Oppression that is clearly inexorable and invincible does not give rise to revolt but to submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/oppression-that-is-clearly-inexorable-and-invincible-does-not-give/)

[Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/)

## More by Octavio Paz

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [I thought that the world was a vast system of signs, a conversation between giant beings. My actions, the cricket's saw, the star's blink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-thought-that-the-world-was-a-vast-system-of-signs-a-conversation/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Changes are inseparable from democracy. To defend democracy is to defend the possibility of change; in turn, changes alone can strengthen democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/changes-are-inseparable-from-democracy-to-defend-democracy-is-to/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Grace is gratuitous; it is a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/grace-is-gratuitous-it-is-a-gift/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Death is the mother of forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/death-is-the-mother-of-forms/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [It is not proper to project our feelings onto things or to attribute our own sensations and passions to them. Can it also be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/it-is-not-proper-to-project-our-feelings-onto-things-or-to-attribute/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Without democracy freedom is a chimera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/without-democracy-freedom-is-a-chimera/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [“I went to the little window and inhaled the country air. One could hear the breathing of the night, feminine, enormous. ("The Blue Bouquet")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-went-to-the-little-window-and-inhaled-the-country-air-one-could/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [A glass pitcher, a wicker basket, a tunic of coarse cloth. Their beauty is inseparable from their function. Handicrafts belong to a world existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/a-glass-pitcher-a-wicker-basket-a-tunic-of-coarse-cloth-their-beauty/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [“Between going and staying the day wavers, in love with its own transparency. The circular afternoon is now a bay where the world in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/between-going-and-staying-the-day-wavers-in-love-with-its-own/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [“Two bodies face to face Are at times two waves And the night is an ocean. Two bodies face to face Are sometimes two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/two-bodies-face-to-face-are-at-times-two-waves-and-the-night-is-an/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Writers, you know, are the beggars of Western society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/writers-you-know-are-the-beggars-of-western-society/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [“Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/solitude-is-the-profoundest-fact-of-the-human-condition/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [“...you are you and your body of steam, you and your face of night, you and your hair, unhurried lightning, you cross the street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/you-are-you-and-your-body-of-steam-you-and-your-face-of-night-you-and/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

[Explore all 150 Octavio Paz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

## More Break quotes

> [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/)

[Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/)

> [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/)

[Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/)

> [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/)

[Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/)

> [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/)

[Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/)

> [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/)

[Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/)

> [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/)

[Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/)

> [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/)

[Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/)

> [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/)

[Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/)

> [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/)

[Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dunne/)

> [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/)

[Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/)

> [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/)

[Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/)

> [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/)

[Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/)

[Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Tradition is no longer a continuity but a series of sharp breaks. The modern tradition is the tradition of revolt.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Octavio Paz"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but-a-series-of-sharp-breaks-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Break"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but-a-series-of-sharp-breaks-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/octavio-paz-1790_break_tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but_1720256.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/octavio-paz-1790_break_tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but_1720256.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/octavio-paz-1790_break_tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but_1720256.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Tradition is no longer a continuity but a series of sharp breaks. The modern tradition is the tradition of…” — Octavio Paz",
                "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": "Octavio Paz",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Tradition is no longer a continuity...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but-a-series-of-sharp-breaks-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/tradition-is-no-longer-a-continuity-but-a-series-of-sharp-breaks-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
