--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Generation after generation of…" description: "\"“Generation after generation of short-spanned living creatures has ripened and rotted, they looking calmly on, superior in their unwithering amaranthin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/rhoda-broughton-25508_blood-flow_generation-after-generation-of-short-spa_1718728.jpg" --- # Generation after generation of short-spanned living… ![“Generation after generation of short-spanned living creatures has ripened and rotted, they looking calmly on, superior in their unwithering amaranthine bloom—generation after generation has gaped open-mouthed, awed by their solemn presence—generation after generation will so gaze and stare until…” quote by Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/rhoda-broughton-25508_blood-flow_generation-after-generation-of-short-spa_1718728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/rhoda-broughton-25508_blood-flow_generation-after-generation-of-short-spa_1718728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/rhoda-broughton-25508_blood-flow_generation-after-generation-of-short-spa_1718728.jpg) > ““Generation after generation of short-spanned living creatures has ripened and rotted, they looking calmly on, superior in their unwithering amaranthine bloom—generation after generation has gaped open-mouthed, awed by their solemn presence—generation after generation will so gaze and stare until the world is overrun with a new deluge of barbarians from the far West, or till it comes to its final ending. That happy man, to whose deathless glory it was granted to fashion the Laocoon, must have had in his mind to excite the envy and shame of puny, feeble after-ages, long after he and his chisel should be dust together; showing them what manner of men there were in the old time, in blue-skied templed Hellas.\[390\] But then, again, one feels inclined—perhaps from aversion to acknowledge that we have degenerated—to doubt whether those god-faces and Titan-frames\[391\] could have been copied from any mere flesh-and-blood creature that, while in life, drudged away on the earth and had material blood flowing in his veins. Could such stainless triumphant beauty and might have been ever found in our world, where perfection in anything is proverbially unattainable? Rather must it have been some divine afflatus\[392\] breathed into the fashioner’s soul, speaking to him of a flawlessness of outward build such as had never”” [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) ## 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 laments humanity’s decline, contrasting past heroic ideals with present decay, suggesting a looming resurgence of barbarism unless true greatness is remembered. **In simple terms:** Human greatness fades, and barbarism may return if we forget past heroes. Key Takeaway Remember and emulate past virtues to resist decline. Themes decline heroism civilization history barbarism Mood melancholic reflective critical Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - education reform - public art - civic rituals - historical preservation - cultural criticism Key Concepts mythic ideal cultural decay divine inspiration Questions to Reflect On - What modern values can embody ancient heroism? - How can societies balance reverence for the past with present realities? A Different Perspective The view may romanticize the past and ignore present progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ages Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ages-long-1076295/) [Blood flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood-flow/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generation Gaped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation-gaped-1316643/) [Generation Gaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation-gaze-1316642/) [Generation Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation-generation-281805/) [Happy man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-man/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Old time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-time/) ## Related quotes > [Altogether, the task of estimating the length of human life is beyond our capacity, for directly we say that it is ages long, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/altogether-the-task-of-estimating-the-length-of-human-life-is-beyond/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“and rocks and creaks and moans in the eternal breeze. Through all ages — when the pavement was grass, when it was swamp, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/and-rocks-and-creaks-and-moans-in-the-eternal-breeze-through-all-ages/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The amazing excellence revealed in the creative work of God is forfeited to a very large degree if we abandon the days of creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-amazing-excellence-revealed-in-the-creative-work-of-god-is/) [John Macarthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) > [In winter's tedious nights sit by the fire With good old folks, and let them tell thee tales Of woeful ages, long ago betid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/in-winter-s-tedious-nights-sit-by-the-fire-with-good-old-folks-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [ For while directly we say that it \[the length of human life\] is ages long, we are reminded that it is briefer than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-while-directly-we-say-that-it-the-length-of-human-life-is-ages/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [ And so you \[young Americans\]need to be the Idea Generation. The generation who's always thinking on the cutting edge, who's wondering how to create… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/and-so-you-young-americans-need-to-be-the-idea-generation-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [But probably that's the way of the world - when we have finally learned something we're too old to apply it - and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/but-probably-that-s-the-way-of-the-world-when-we-have-finally-learned/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [Welcome to my generation, we call it-generation hell-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mattias-konradsson/welcome-to-my-generation-we-call-it-generation-hell/) [Mattias Konradsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mattias-konradsson/) > [This generation, our generation of people who benefited, must always be the pioneers who look to younger people and say mediocrity is not accommodated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-manuel/this-generation-our-generation-of-people-who-benefited-must-always-be/) [Trevor Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-manuel/) > [I do not think that there is any time in our history when things were perfect. I do not expect such times in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-do-not-think-that-there-is-any-time-in-our-history-when-things-were/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Generation after generation, there is this never-ending, contemptuous, condescending attitude to the next generation or the next way of thinking: music, art, politics, whatever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-jarre/generation-after-generation-there-is-this-never-ending-contemptuous/) [Jean-Michel Jarre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-jarre/) > [The only generation that can reach this generation is our generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-j-smith/the-only-generation-that-can-reach-this-generation-is-our-generation/) [Oswald J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-j-smith/) > [Generation after generation can't just be loaded with more and more nuclear weapons and not ultimately dance to that music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/generation-after-generation-can-t-just-be-loaded-with-more-and-more/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“From generation to generation, America should never be the same country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/from-generation-to-generation-america-should-never-be-the-same-country/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Generation Y are everything you feared. They’re everything your worst nightmares conjured up. They’re lazy, apathetic, unoriginal, scared of innovation, scared of difference, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarra-manning/generation-y-are-everything-you-feared-they-re-everything-your-worst/) [Sarra Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarra-manning/) ## More by Rhoda Broughton > [“Poor Victor! poor Victor!” she thought; and then she tried mentally to project herself into the situation of the wretched, remorseful Frenchwoman, the coquette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/poor-victor-poor-victor-she-thought-and-then-she-tried-mentally-to/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“Great kingdoms grew into being in the old times, at least we suppose so, we having now nothing of them but their dark old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/great-kingdoms-grew-into-being-in-the-old-times-at-least-we-suppose/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [ “Beauty is a fading flower;”\[3\] and, applied particularly to woman’s loveliness, there is none more favourite among that bundle of dull platitudes, of insipid,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/beauty-is-a-fading-flower-3-and-applied-particularly-to-woman-s/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“To how few people a premonition of what is going to happen to them, either of sweet or sour, is vouchsafed! Is it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/to-how-few-people-a-premonition-of-what-is-going-to-happen-to-them/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“IT seems a stupid hackneyed sort of thing to say—a thing whose point by much wear is worn out, a thing which everybody says,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/it-seems-a-stupid-hackneyed-sort-of-thing-to-say-a-thing-whose-point/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“Since this time yesterday she had made the pleasing discovery that she was fast falling in love violently, and as it now appeared unrequitedly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/since-this-time-yesterday-she-had-made-the-pleasing-discovery-that/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“Kate stood by that low bed, looking down earnestly on its occupant—that occupant that was now a person, and soon would be—O, fearful metamorphosis!—but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/kate-stood-by-that-low-bed-looking-down-earnestly-on-its-occupant/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“And yet, despite all my reasoning to the contrary, I feel that the father and sons in the Laocoon are men and not gods.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/and-yet-despite-all-my-reasoning-to-the-contrary-i-feel-that-the/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“Look at me now. I have done very well without love, at least love in that technical sense, without this fine passion, for twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/look-at-me-now-i-have-done-very-well-without-love-at-least-love-in/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“1864 Broughton’s sister Eleanor marries William Charles Newcome; Broughton makes her home with them at Upper Eyarth in Denbyshire. She shows her uncle by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/1864-broughton-s-sister-eleanor-marries-william-charles-newcome/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“Man is so entirely dependent on man—so much a part, so little a whole—that I do not believe he is intended to be so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/man-is-so-entirely-dependent-on-man-so-much-a-part-so-little-a-whole/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“I must try and be good, or clever, or eccentric, for it was very evident that pretty I could never be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/i-must-try-and-be-good-or-clever-or-eccentric-for-it-was-very-evident/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“What was it to her whether people would laugh or sneer at what she was doing? No such notion ever crossed her mind; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/what-was-it-to-her-whether-people-would-laugh-or-sneer-at-what-she/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“The only course to pursue to make life bearable on such a day, at least for women (I speak not of men, considering their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/the-only-course-to-pursue-to-make-life-bearable-on-such-a-day-at/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“Marvellous pitch of civilisation for us to have attained to, to be able to do such a thing! we must come soon to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/marvellous-pitch-of-civilisation-for-us-to-have-attained-to-to-be/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) [Explore all 23 Rhoda Broughton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) ## More Blood flow quotes > [“The hunger for power has made them cruel They shed humanity and shed every rule They bow to the devil, deny what is just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/the-hunger-for-power-has-made-them-cruel-they-shed-humanity-and-shed/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“who wants to make it grand or fortify it for the coitus, must rub it before copulation with tepid water, until it gets red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cliff/who-wants-to-make-it-grand-or-fortify-it-for-the-coitus-must-rub-it/) [Nigel Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cliff/) > [Words got in the way. The things we felt the hardest--like what it was like to have a boy touch you as if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/words-got-in-the-way-the-things-we-felt-the-hardest-like-what-it-was/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [So someday in the near future hopefully rather than having a foot or a leg amputated we'll just give you an injection of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lanza/so-someday-in-the-near-future-hopefully-rather-than-having-a-foot-or/) [Robert Lanza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lanza/) > [“This is how things come to pass in the world,' one of the princes is supposed to have said. 'Blood flows one way in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-kadar/this-is-how-things-come-to-pass-in-the-world-one-of-the-princes-is/) [Ismail Kadare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-kadar/) > [“More helicopters hovered to the south, and a large troop carrier lifted off the ground a mile ahead. These weren’t the same helicopters Rick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-hoffman/more-helicopters-hovered-to-the-south-and-a-large-troop-carrier/) [Rich Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-hoffman/) > [“I DECLARE I will live victoriously. I was created in the image of God. I have the DNA of a winner. I am wearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/i-declare-i-will-live-victoriously-i-was-created-in-the-image-of-god/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [All religions are the same. They all lead to God. God is everybody ... The same blood flows through us all, the arms, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neem-karoli-baba/all-religions-are-the-same-they-all-lead-to-god-god-is-everybody-the/) [Neem Karoli Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neem-karoli-baba/) > [Caffeine restricts blood flow to the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/caffeine-restricts-blood-flow-to-the-brain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Something I've been starting to use almost every day is a blood flow restriction system for my legs. It's good for recovery and strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-bird/something-i-ve-been-starting-to-use-almost-every-day-is-a-blood-flow/) [Sue Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-bird/) > [Aging nations have arteries clogged with obsolete laws, slowing blood flow and preventing oxygen from reaching all parts of the body politic. Physicians call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/aging-nations-have-arteries-clogged-with-obsolete-laws-slowing-blood/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [“It was you," I say softly. "It's always you I think about." The intensity in his gaze took my breath away. I could feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-simmons/it-was-you-i-say-softly-it-s-always-you-i-think-about-the-intensity/) [Kristen Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-simmons/) > [Feeling good, the workout, building your muscles, let your blood flow right and eating the right type of food. That's what I care about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/feeling-good-the-workout-building-your-muscles-let-your-blood-flow/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [“...ultimately, eventually, we let go. We do this not because we're ready. We do this not because we've mended. We do this not because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-frankel/ultimately-eventually-we-let-go-we-do-this-not-because-we-re-ready-we/) [Laurie Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-frankel/) > [“With a lurch Rishi realized his brain was also diverting blood flow to other parts of his body. He immediately began to think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandhya-menon/with-a-lurch-rishi-realized-his-brain-was-also-diverting-blood-flow/) [Sandhya Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandhya-menon/) [Browse all 173 Blood flow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood-flow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Generation after generation of short-spanned living creatures has ripened and rotted, they looking calmly on, superior in their unwithering amaranthine bloom—generation after generation has gaped open-mouthed, awed by their solemn presence—generation after generation will so gaze and stare until the world is overrun with a new deluge of barbarians from the far West, or till it comes to its final ending. That happy man, to whose deathless glory it was granted to fashion the Laocoon, must have had in his mind to excite the envy and shame of puny, feeble after-ages, long after he and his chisel should be dust together; showing them what manner of men there were in the old time, in blue-skied templed Hellas.[390] But then, again, one feels inclined—perhaps from aversion to acknowledge that we have degenerated—to doubt whether those god-faces and Titan-frames[391] could have been copied from any mere flesh-and-blood creature that, while in life, drudged away on the earth and had material blood flowing in his veins. Could such stainless triumphant beauty and might have been ever found in our world, where perfection in anything is proverbially unattainable? 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