--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Children and geniuses know that there is…" description: "\"“Children and geniuses know that there is no bridge, only the water that lets itself be crossed.”\" — René Char" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/ren-char-15267_bridge_children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is_1172011.png" --- # Children and geniuses know that there is no bridge, only… ![“Children and geniuses know that there is no bridge, only the water that lets itself be crossed.” quote by René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/ren-char-15267_bridge_children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is_1172011.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/ren-char-15267_bridge_children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is_1172011.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/ren-char-15267_bridge_children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is_1172011.png) > ““Children and geniuses know that there is no bridge, only the water that lets itself be crossed.”” [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True insight comes from recognizing that solutions arise naturally, not from forced connections. **In simple terms:** Solutions flow like water. Key Takeaway Trust natural processes. Themes philosophy creativity perception Mood reflective curious Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - problem solving - artistic creation - learning new skills Key Concepts Nonlinear thinking fluid dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can you let ideas flow? - When is a bridge unnecessary? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on structure can hinder innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridge/) [Bridge Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridge-water-402144/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Geniuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-geniuses-3401490/) [Geniuses Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geniuses-know-3401491/) [Know Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-bridge-3401492/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ## Related quotes > [People who have lost relationships often wonder why they can't just let it be water under the bridge. It is water under the bridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-fairley/people-who-have-lost-relationships-often-wonder-why-they-can-t-just/) [Grant Fairley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-fairley/) > [“Sometimes the hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/sometimes-the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-which-bridge-to-cross/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Children are geniuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/children-are-geniuses/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [Blessed the geniuses who know / that egomania is not a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/blessed-the-geniuses-who-know-that-egomania-is-not-a-duty/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [A politician is someone who promises a bridge even when there's no water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/a-politician-is-someone-who-promises-a-bridge-even-when-there-s-no/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [The real geniuses know where their writing has to be good and where they can get away with some mediocrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/the-real-geniuses-know-where-their-writing-has-to-be-good-and-where/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-which-bridge-to-cross-and-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “Understanding’s not enough. Understanding’s from outside; merely a function of the mind. \[. . .\] To enter, that’s the secret. To become the bridge,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-fisher/understanding-s-not-enough-understanding-s-from-outside-merely-a/) [Catherine Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-fisher/) > [“We can't always be the bridge. Sometimes we have to be the flooding river.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-weikel/we-can-t-always-be-the-bridge-sometimes-we-have-to-be-the-flooding/) [K. Weikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-weikel/) > [“Sometimes you just have to cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-johnson/sometimes-you-just-have-to-cry-a-river-build-a-bridge-and-get-over-it/) [Rick Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-johnson/) > [Im not here right now so cry me a river, build yourself a bridge, and Get Over it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-not-here-right-now-so-cry-me-a-river-build-yourself-a-bridge-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cry yourself a river, build a bridge and get over it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cry-yourself-a-river-build-a-bridge-and-get-over-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tower Bridge would make a cool house. I like the idea of living over the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-broad/tower-bridge-would-make-a-cool-house-i-like-the-idea-of-living-over/) [Stuart Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-broad/) > [“In my land we don't question someone who has been touched deeply. There is no malign shadow over capsized boats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/in-my-land-we-don-t-question-someone-who-has-been-touched-deeply/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) ## More by René Char > [“Midnight is not in everyman's reach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/midnight-is-not-in-everyman-s-reach/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [A poet should leave traces of his passage, not proofs. Traces alone engender dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-should-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proofs-traces-alone/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [How can we live without the unknown before us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/how-can-we-live-without-the-unknown-before-us/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“In my land we don't question someone who has been touched deeply. There is no malign shadow over capsized boats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/in-my-land-we-don-t-question-someone-who-has-been-touched-deeply/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Be gful to the man who cares nothing for your remorse. You are his equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/be-gful-to-the-man-who-cares-nothing-for-your-remorse-you-are-his/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“Ihminen vailla puutteita on vuori vailla rotkoja.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/ihminen-vailla-puutteita-on-vuori-vailla-rotkoja/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Imagination consists in expelling from reality several incomplete persons, and then using the magic and subversive powers of desire to bring them back in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/imagination-consists-in-expelling-from-reality-several-incomplete/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“A poet should leave traces of his passage, not proof.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-should-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proof/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“The poet advises: 'Read me. Read me again.' He does not always come away unscathed from his page, but like the poor, he knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/the-poet-advises-read-me-read-me-again-he-does-not-always-come-away/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [To be a poet is to have an appetite for a certain anxiety which, when tasted among the swirling sum of things existent or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/to-be-a-poet-is-to-have-an-appetite-for-a-certain-anxiety-which-when/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [A poet must leave traces of his passage, not proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/a-poet-must-leave-traces-of-his-passage-not-proof/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Develop your legitimate strangeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/develop-your-legitimate-strangeness/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“Lucidity is the wound closest to the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/lucidity-is-the-wound-closest-to-the-sun/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [“The poem is furious ascension; poetry, the game of arid riverbanks. I am a man of riverbanks – excavation and inflammation – not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/the-poem-is-furious-ascension-poetry-the-game-of-arid-riverbanks-i-am/) [René Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) > [Each act is virgin, even the repeated ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/each-act-is-virgin-even-the-repeated-ones/) [Rene Char](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) [Explore all 39 René Char quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/) ## More Bridge quotes > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“Art is what gets us beyond what is real. It makes reality more real. It also shortens the distance we gotta travel to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-pritchett/art-is-what-gets-us-beyond-what-is-real-it-makes-reality-more-real-it/) [Laura Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-pritchett/) > [People who have lost relationships often wonder why they can't just let it be water under the bridge. It is water under the bridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-fairley/people-who-have-lost-relationships-often-wonder-why-they-can-t-just/) [Grant Fairley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-fairley/) > [Telling your story is transformative. For both the storyteller and their audience, a new bridge to understanding is created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-burton/telling-your-story-is-transformative-for-both-the-storyteller-and/) [Susan Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-burton/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [“Mr Benz, the parapet of an Italian bridge doesn’t look like the proper place for you,” said Chase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefania-mattana/mr-benz-the-parapet-of-an-italian-bridge-doesn-t-look-like-the-proper/) [Stefania Mattana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefania-mattana/) > [I find that it's best to take one step at a time and cross each bridge as they come to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stuhlbarg/i-find-that-it-s-best-to-take-one-step-at-a-time-and-cross-each/) [Michael Stuhlbarg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stuhlbarg/) > [“Houses built on bridges are scandals. A bridge wants to not be. If it could choose its shape, a bridge would be no shape,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/houses-built-on-bridges-are-scandals-a-bridge-wants-to-not-be-if-it/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Bridge the gap with closed minds though careful dissection of ideas and solid presentation of fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximillian-degenerez/bridge-the-gap-with-closed-minds-though-careful-dissection-of-ideas/) [Maximillian Degenerez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximillian-degenerez/) > [I remember, many years ago, coming over the Brooklyn Bridge in the night and seeing the skyline of Manhattan, with the Twin Towers. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/i-remember-many-years-ago-coming-over-the-brooklyn-bridge-in-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [My parents wielded disposal cameras and Polaroids with the best of them, occasionally begging for at least one decent photo of my brother and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pilon/my-parents-wielded-disposal-cameras-and-polaroids-with-the-best-of/) [Mary Pilon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pilon/) > [“Love is a bridge between your future and mine. A bridge constructed entirely out of trust, honesty, and in our case, wooden planks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/love-is-a-bridge-between-your-future-and-mine-a-bridge-constructed/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [What I do is I'm trying to bridge the gap between yoga and fitness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-ingber/what-i-do-is-i-m-trying-to-bridge-the-gap-between-yoga-and-fitness/) [Mandy Ingber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-ingber/) > [Historically, Hong Kong has served as an important bridge between China and the world. Our freedoms, stability and the rule of law have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/historically-hong-kong-has-served-as-an-important-bridge-between/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Tower Bridge would make a cool house. I like the idea of living over the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-broad/tower-bridge-would-make-a-cool-house-i-like-the-idea-of-living-over/) [Stuart Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-broad/) [Browse all 736 Bridge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Children and geniuses know that there is no bridge, only the water that lets itself be crossed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "René Char" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is-no-bridge-only-the-water/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bridge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is-no-bridge-only-the-water/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/ren-char-15267_bridge_children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is_1172011.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/ren-char-15267_bridge_children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is_1172011.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/ren-char-15267_bridge_children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is_1172011.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Children and geniuses know that there is no bridge, only the water that lets itself be crossed.” — René Char", "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": "René Char", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-char/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Children and geniuses know that there...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is-no-bridge-only-the-water/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-char/children-and-geniuses-know-that-there-is-no-bridge-only-the-water/#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 } } ] } ```