--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By midafternoon soft snow is falling…" description: "\"“By midafternoon soft snow is falling, muffling four voices that rise from the cardinal points around the circle, north, south, east, and west,intoning..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/peter-matthiessen-5795_east-and-west_by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muf_2721947.png" --- # By midafternoon soft snow is falling, muffling four voices… ![“By midafternoon soft snow is falling, muffling four voices that rise from the cardinal points around the circle, north, south, east, and west,intoning names from registration lists obtained by Rainer from museum archives in Berlin--long lists that represent but tiny fractions of that fraction of…” quote by Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/peter-matthiessen-5795_east-and-west_by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muf_2721947.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/peter-matthiessen-5795_east-and-west_by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muf_2721947.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/peter-matthiessen-5795_east-and-west_by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muf_2721947.png) > ““By midafternoon soft snow is falling, muffling four voices that rise from the cardinal points around the circle, north, south, east, and west,intoning names from registration lists obtained by Rainer from museum archives in Berlin--long lists that represent but tiny fractions of that fraction of new prisoners who survived, however briefly, the first selections on this platform and were tattooed with small blue numbers. The impeccable lists include city and country of origin, arrival date, and date of death, not infrequently on that same day or the next. Column after column, page after page, of the more common family names ascend softly from the circle of still figures to be borne away on gusts of wind-whirled snow. Schwartz, Herschel; Schwartz, Isaac A.; Schwartz, Isaac D.; Schwartz, Isidor--Who? Isidor? You too? The voices are all but inaudible as befits snuffed-out identities that exist only on lists, with no more reality than forgotten faces in old photo albums-- Who's this bald guy in the back? Stray faces of no more significance than wind fragments of these names of long ago, of no more substance than this snowflake poised one moment on his pen before dissolving into voids beyond all Knowing. In Paradise 87-88”” [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on how bureaucratic records reduce human lives to data, emphasizing the fragility and erasure of identity amid mass tragedy. **In simple terms:** People become numbers, lost in endless lists. Key Takeaway Remember each person behind the statistics. Themes memory identity history loss Mood somber reflective Type literary historical When to use this quote - museum research - genealogy projects - educational curricula - memorial design Key Concepts bureaucracy dehumanization collective trauma Questions to Reflect On - How do we honor individuals when they are reduced to entries? - What responsibilities do we have to preserve personal stories? A Different Perspective The emotional impact may be muted by the abstract presentation of data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [East and west](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-and-west/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Old Photo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-photo/) [Photo Album](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photo-album/) ## Related quotes > [“Thumbing through photo albums I see pictures that show I once smiled and tell me that I existed, but if you took them away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-bowman/thumbing-through-photo-albums-i-see-pictures-that-show-i-once-smiled/) Grace Bowman > [Family photo albums are so powerful in that they make kids feel valued, cherished and respected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-o-dell/family-photo-albums-are-so-powerful-in-that-they-make-kids-feel/) [Nancy O'Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-o-dell/) > [When I grow up and my daughter asks me who my first love was. I dont want to take out the photo albums. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-grow-up-and-my-daughter-asks-me-who-my-first-love-was-i-dont/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is like pictures in a photo album. You can look back on the moments, but you can never recapture them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinier-bennett/life-is-like-pictures-in-a-photo-album-you-can-look-back-on-the/) [Chinier Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinier-bennett/) > [As for music and my place in it, maybe things are changing a little bit. I know this: a good song is deeper than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanilla-ice/as-for-music-and-my-place-in-it-maybe-things-are-changing-a-little/) [Vanilla Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanilla-ice/) > [“As one refugee, Amila, from Gradačac, commented 20 years later: “The most important part of being a refugee is being a good loser; it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-farebrother/as-one-refugee-amila-from-grada-ac-commented-20-years-later-the-most/) [John Farebrother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-farebrother/) > [“All photo albums are the same. Just like all dreams are the same. They mean the world to the person who owns them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-hill/all-photo-albums-are-the-same-just-like-all-dreams-are-the-same-they/) Gregory Hill > [“My mom passed away 3 years ago. Recently, I found her “special” photo album- the one in which she saved her favorite pictures, postcards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/my-mom-passed-away-3-years-ago-recently-i-found-her-special-photo/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [There are some things I don't understand about Jess and never will. No wedding dress. No flowers. No photo album. No champagne. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/there-are-some-things-i-don-t-understand-about-jess-and-never-will-no/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [“These pictures from the photo albums of my childhood are artifacts of a time when I was happy and whole. They are evidence that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/these-pictures-from-the-photo-albums-of-my-childhood-are-artifacts-of/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I wonder if we would ever switch back to old photo albums we got printed from photography shops. A Kodak KB10 camera with 36…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crestless-wave/i-wonder-if-we-would-ever-switch-back-to-old-photo-albums-we-got/) Crestless Wave > [“Knowing what I do now, I think about shame and worthiness in this way: 'It's the album, not the picture.' If you imagine opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/knowing-what-i-do-now-i-think-about-shame-and-worthiness-in-this-way/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I don't really have a treasured possession, but I do love my family's proper old photo album. We all have hundreds of photos on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-walker/i-don-t-really-have-a-treasured-possession-but-i-do-love-my-family-s/) [Nicola Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-walker/) > [When I'm older and my daughter asks who my first love was, I don't want to have to pull out the old photo album.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-m-older-and-my-daughter-asks-who-my-first-love-was-i-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I'm older and my daughter asks who my first love was, I dont to have to pull out the old photo album. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-m-older-and-my-daughter-asks-who-my-first-love-was-i-dont-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Peter Matthiessen > [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [Figures dark beneath their loads pass down the far bank of the river, rendered immortal by the streak of sunset upon their shoulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/figures-dark-beneath-their-loads-pass-down-the-far-bank-of-the-river/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I think in any writing you're paying attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-think-in-any-writing-you-re-paying-attention-to-detail/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [The great stillness in these landscapes that once made me restless seeps into me day by day, and with it the unreasonable feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/the-great-stillness-in-these-landscapes-that-once-made-me-restless/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“...experience was static in the valley; it was older than time itself, for time was a thing of but two generations, dated by moons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/experience-was-static-in-the-valley-it-was-older-than-time-itself-for/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“The central feature of the practice of meditation and hard work known as Zen is that, as Matthiessen says, it “has no patience with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/the-central-feature-of-the-practice-of-meditation-and-hard-work-known/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [Be light, light, light - full of light!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/be-light-light-light-full-of-light/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [For some time I watch the coming of the night? Above is the glistening galaxy of childhood, now hidden in the Western world by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/for-some-time-i-watch-the-coming-of-the-night-above-is-the-glistening/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“Nonfiction at its best is like fashioning a cabinet. It can be elegant and very beautiful but it can never be sculpture. Captive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/nonfiction-at-its-best-is-like-fashioning-a-cabinet-it-can-be-elegant/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [Soon the child’s clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions, and abstractions. Simple free being becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/soon-the-child-s-clear-eye-is-clouded-over-by-ideas-and-opinions/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“In the book of Job, the Lord demands, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” “I was there!”-surely that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/in-the-book-of-job-the-lord-demands-where-wast-thou-when-i-laid-the/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I meditate for the last time on this mountain that is bare, though others all around are white with snow. Like the bare peak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-meditate-for-the-last-time-on-this-mountain-that-is-bare-though/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I was just very interested in the American frontier and the growth of capitalism - those enormous fortunes that were being made, more often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-was-just-very-interested-in-the-american-frontier-and-the-growth-of/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“A far cicada rings high and clear over the river’s heavy wash. Morning glory, a lone dandelion, cassia, orchids. So far from the nearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/a-far-cicada-rings-high-and-clear-over-the-river-s-heavy-wash-morning/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I ... had what Kierkegaard called 'the sickness of infinitude,' wandering from one path to another with no real recognition that I was embarked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-had-what-kierkegaard-called-the-sickness-of-infinitude-wandering/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) [Explore all 99 Peter Matthiessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) ## More East and west quotes > [In a compass, we got north, south, east and west, right? But in between that, you got things like north-east - now that, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bj-the-chicago-kid/in-a-compass-we-got-north-south-east-and-west-right-but-in-between/) [BJ the Chicago Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bj-the-chicago-kid/) > [“Rolanth Temple is a weather queen's temple, open to the east and west, the roof supported by beams and thick marble columns. Air moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendare-blake/rolanth-temple-is-a-weather-queen-s-temple-open-to-the-east-and-west/) [Kendare Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendare-blake/) > [The idea that there is a difference between East and West is nonsense. You both hand over your card with two hands. If someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tang/the-idea-that-there-is-a-difference-between-east-and-west-is-nonsense/) [David Tang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tang/) > [In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-sky-there-is-no-distinction-of-east-and-west-people-create/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All your names I and my friend approve of or nearly all as to sense & expression, but I am frightened by their length…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/all-your-names-i-and-my-friend-approve-of-or-nearly-all-as-to-sense/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [“As part of this research, one group of participants was asked which two countries are more similar to one another, East Germany and West…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/as-part-of-this-research-one-group-of-participants-was-asked-which/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“I always found in myself a dread of west and love of east. Where I ever got such an idea I cannot say, unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-always-found-in-myself-a-dread-of-west-and-love-of-east-where-i/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The most important principle of divine philosophy is the oneness of the world of humanity, the unity of mankind, the bond conjoining East and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/the-most-important-principle-of-divine-philosophy-is-the-oneness-of/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [“When my father was a young man, during the years of the First World War and long before there was any inkling of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/when-my-father-was-a-young-man-during-the-years-of-the-first-world/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [“The Intelligence Services of East and West have given Europe over fifty years of peace - the longest the Continent has ever known. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/the-intelligence-services-of-east-and-west-have-given-europe-over/) [Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/) > [If once again Germany destabilizes Europe, then Germany will be not be divided again, but wiped off the map. East and West have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/if-once-again-germany-destabilizes-europe-then-germany-will-be-not-be/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [We must strive to encourage East and West not only to move towards each other but also to encourage them to find a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nursultan-nazarbayev/we-must-strive-to-encourage-east-and-west-not-only-to-move-towards/) [Nursultan Nazarbayev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nursultan-nazarbayev/) > [One of the dreams of Zionism was to be a bridge. Instead, we are creating exclusion between the East and the West instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-yehoshua/one-of-the-dreams-of-zionism-was-to-be-a-bridge-instead-we-are/) [A. B. Yehoshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-yehoshua/) > [Culture is mix. Culture means a mix of things from other sources. And my town, Istanbul, was this kind of mix. Istanbul, in fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/culture-is-mix-culture-means-a-mix-of-things-from-other-sources-and/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I inhale great draught of space...the east and west are mine...and the north and south are mine...I am grandeur than I thought...I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-inhale-great-draught-of-space-the-east-and-west-are-mine-and-the/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) [Browse all 185 East and west quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east-and-west/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“By midafternoon soft snow is falling, muffling four voices that rise from the cardinal points around the circle, north, south, east, and west,intoning names from registration lists obtained by Rainer from museum archives in Berlin--long lists that represent but tiny fractions of that fraction of new prisoners who survived, however briefly, the first selections on this platform and were tattooed with small blue numbers. The impeccable lists include city and country of origin, arrival date, and date of death, not infrequently on that same day or the next. Column after column, page after page, of the more common family names ascend softly from the circle of still figures to be borne away on gusts of wind-whirled snow. Schwartz, Herschel; Schwartz, Isaac A.; Schwartz, Isaac D.; Schwartz, Isidor--Who? Isidor? You too? The voices are all but inaudible as befits snuffed-out identities that exist only on lists, with no more reality than forgotten faces in old photo albums-- Who's this bald guy in the back? Stray faces of no more significance than wind fragments of these names of long ago, of no more substance than this snowflake poised one moment on his pen before dissolving into voids beyond all Knowing. In Paradise 87-88”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Matthiessen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muffling-four-voices-that-rise/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "East and west" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muffling-four-voices-that-rise/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/peter-matthiessen-5795_east-and-west_by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muf_2721947.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/peter-matthiessen-5795_east-and-west_by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muf_2721947.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/peter-matthiessen-5795_east-and-west_by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muf_2721947.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By midafternoon soft snow is falling, muffling four voices that rise from the cardinal points around the…” — Peter Matthiessen", "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": "Peter Matthiessen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“By midafternoon soft snow is falling,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muffling-four-voices-that-rise/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/by-midafternoon-soft-snow-is-falling-muffling-four-voices-that-rise/#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 } } ] } ```