Change Quote by Peter S. Beagle
““I suppose I could understand it if men had simply forgotten unicorns, or if they had changed so that they hated all unicorns now and tried to kill them when they saw them. But not to see them at all, to look at them and see something else-what do they look like to one another, then? What do trees look like to them, or houses, or real horses, or their own children?””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, 1968
The quote explores how forgetting or destroying wonder erodes our perception of reality.
In simple terms: Losing wonder blurs how we see the world.
Key Takeaway
Preserve imagination to see deeper truths.
Themes
imagination
perception
wonder
Mood
nostalgic
curious
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- education
- creative arts
- parenting
- mental health
- environmental advocacy
Key Concepts
philosophy
existentialism
literary metaphor
Questions to Reflect On
- What would you miss if you stopped imagining?
- How does wonder shape your values?
A Different Perspective
Some may argue rationalism protects against delusion.
![“[The unicorn] sighed and plodded on, both amused and disappointed. It serves you right, she told herself. You know better than to expect a butterfly to know your name. All they know are songs and poetry, and anything else they hear. They mean well, but they can’t keep things straight. And why…” quote by Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/217/peter-s-beagle-1665_butterfly_the-unicorn-sighed-and-plodded-on-both-a_441340.jpg)
![“The Lady Amalthea beckoned, and the cat wriggled all over, like a dog, but he would not come near... She was offering her open palm to the crook-eared cat, but he stayed where he was, shivering with the desire to go to her"...[later, Molly asked the cat] "Why were you afraid to let her touch you?…” quote by Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/59b/peter-s-beagle-1665_cat_the-lady-amalthea-beckoned-and-the-cat-w_254271.jpg)
