--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How odd it is, thought March afterwards…" description: "\"“How odd it is, thought March afterwards, to live your life in ignorance of the past, of your world, yourself. Yet how easy to do it! You went along fr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/robert-harris-2039_crime_how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-t_2533064.png" --- # How odd it is, thought March afterwards, to live your life… ![“How odd it is, thought March afterwards, to live your life in ignorance of the past, of your world, yourself. Yet how easy to do it! You went along from day to day, down paths other people had prepared for you, never raising your head - enfolded in their logic, from swaddling clothes to shroud. It…” quote by Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/robert-harris-2039_crime_how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-t_2533064.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/robert-harris-2039_crime_how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-t_2533064.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/robert-harris-2039_crime_how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-t_2533064.png) > ““How odd it is, thought March afterwards, to live your life in ignorance of the past, of your world, yourself. Yet how easy to do it! You went along from day to day, down paths other people had prepared for you, never raising your head - enfolded in their logic, from swaddling clothes to shroud. It was a kind of fear. Well, goodbye to that. And good to leave it behind - whatever happened now. - 214”” [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living without understanding history or self leads to a constrained, fearful existence; recognizing and abandoning that ignorance frees you to shape your present. **In simple terms:** Ignorance of past and self limits life; letting go opens freedom. Key Takeaway Acknowledge history, question inherited paths. Themes self-awareness freedom history Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - career decisions - relationships - civic engagement Key Concepts Existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What inherited belief limits you? - How can you explore your past to inform today? A Different Perspective Ignoring history can cause repeated mistakes and stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Day to day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-to-day/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Ignorance Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-past-1361986/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-ignorance-1004580/) [Live your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-your-life/) [Odd Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odd-thought-1361988/) [Path of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path-of-life/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-march-1361987/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Ww2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ww2/) ## Related quotes > [“...It would hardly be a waste of time if sometimes even the most advanced students in the cognitive sciences were to pay a visit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/it-would-hardly-be-a-waste-of-time-if-sometimes-even-the-most/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [ “The conduct \[of today\] is ignorance of the past \[life\] whereas understanding (samjhan) is the stock carried forward from many past lives!” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-conduct-of-today-is-ignorance-of-the-past-life-whereas/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“History is not the past – it is the method we have evolved of organising our ignorance of the past”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/history-is-not-the-past-it-is-the-method-we-have-evolved-of/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [A wise architect observed that you could break the laws of architec75tural art provided you had mastered them first. That would apply to religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/a-wise-architect-observed-that-you-could-break-the-laws-of/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. You can "already know for sure" things that could actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/all-you-need-in-this-life-is-ignorance-and-confidence-then-success-is-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/all-you-need-in-this-life-is-ignorance-and-confidence-and-then/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Unfortunately, we live at a moment in which ignorance appears to be one of the defining features of American political and cultural life. Ignorance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/unfortunately-we-live-at-a-moment-in-which-ignorance-appears-to-be/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/all-you-need-in-this-life-is-ignorance-and-confidence-then-success-is/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Friendship is the best thing that happens in our life and the ignorance of our best friend is the worst thing that happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vedhantha/friendship-is-the-best-thing-that-happens-in-our-life-and-the/) [Vedhantha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vedhantha/) > [“Odd how somehow she'd once thought she hated had become such an integral part of her daily life. Like breathing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/odd-how-somehow-she-d-once-thought-she-hated-had-become-such-an/) [Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/) > [We need two things to succeed in life IGNORANCE and CONFIDENCE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-need-two-things-to-succeed-in-life-ignorance-and-confidence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one knows very much about the life of another. This ignorance becomes vivid, if you love another. Love sets the imagination on fire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-knows-very-much-about-the-life-of-another-this-ignorance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What if?.. What if I am all to see? What if life is only this? And Ignorance is bliss? What if love is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-carlson/what-if-what-if-i-am-all-to-see-what-if-life-is-only-this-and/) [Melody Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-carlson/) > [it was odd, he thought, that a man could hate himself as though he were someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-odd-he-thought-that-a-man-could-hate-himself-as-though-he-were/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“One thing can make you stop permanently in life and that is your own ignorance about your inner divinity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seema-brain-openers/one-thing-can-make-you-stop-permanently-in-life-and-that-is-your-own/) [Seema Brain Openers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seema-brain-openers/) ## More by Robert Harris > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [If one first gives himself to the Lord, all other giving is easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/if-one-first-gives-himself-to-the-lord-all-other-giving-is-easy/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“He felt more human with his boots on. A man can face the world with something on his feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/he-felt-more-human-with-his-boots-on-a-man-can-face-the-world-with/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Cicero most reminds me of Harold Wilson. Both men knew how to keep the show on the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/cicero-most-reminds-me-of-harold-wilson-both-men-knew-how-to-keep-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [The financial world is at the cutting edge of high technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/the-financial-world-is-at-the-cutting-edge-of-high-technology/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“To choose one's victims, to prepare one's plans minutely, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go to bed ... there is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/to-choose-one-s-victims-to-prepare-one-s-plans-minutely-to-slake-an/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“Nature has granted man no better gift than the shortness of life. The senses grow dull, the limbs are numb, sight, bearing, gait, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/nature-has-granted-man-no-better-gift-than-the-shortness-of-life-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“A crock of shit,” Rick had called it. But actually this was worse. Shit, to quote Gore Vidal, has its own integrity. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/a-crock-of-shit-rick-had-called-it-but-actually-this-was-worse-shit/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“... unfortunately, freedom alone is not enough, by far. If there is a shortage of bread, a shortage of butter and fats, a shortage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/unfortunately-freedom-alone-is-not-enough-by-far-if-there-is-a/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [It is perseverance, and not genius that takes a man to the top. Rome is full of unrecognized geniuses. Only perseverance enables you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/it-is-perseverance-and-not-genius-that-takes-a-man-to-the-top-rome-is/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“No one can really claim to know politics properly until he has stayed up all night writing a speech for delivery the following day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/no-one-can-really-claim-to-know-politics-properly-until-he-has-stayed/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [People perish. Books are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/people-perish-books-are-immortal/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Does a name stick because it suits a man or does the man, unconsciously, evolve into his name?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/does-a-name-stick-because-it-suits-a-man-or-does-the-man/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“He glanced around the reading room and closed his eyes, trying to keep hold of the past for a minute longer, a fattening and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/he-glanced-around-the-reading-room-and-closed-his-eyes-trying-to-keep/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [The natural impulse of men is to follow and whoever has the strongest sense of purpose will always dominate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/the-natural-impulse-of-men-is-to-follow-and-whoever-has-the-strongest/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) [Explore all 184 Robert Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) ## More Crime quotes > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [Taking notes while watching Forensic Files and Snapped. I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Too much virtue can be criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-racine/too-much-virtue-can-be-criminal/) [Jean Racine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-racine/) > [The federal prison population increased by almost 800 percent between 1980 and 2013, often at a far faster rate than the Bureau of Prisons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-yates/the-federal-prison-population-increased-by-almost-800-percent-between/) [Sally Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-yates/) > [ \[P\]rogress, however, has not sufficiently infiltrated the Interior Ministry, affording protection to those who participated in the Bytyqi murders and other egregious Milosevic-era crimes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avis-bohlen/p-rogress-however-has-not-sufficiently-infiltrated-the-interior/) [Avis Bohlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avis-bohlen/) [Browse all 8,359 Crime quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How odd it is, thought March afterwards, to live your life in ignorance of the past, of your world, yourself. Yet how easy to do it! You went along from day to day, down paths other people had prepared for you, never raising your head - enfolded in their logic, from swaddling clothes to shroud. It was a kind of fear. Well, goodbye to that. And good to leave it behind - whatever happened now. - 214”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-to-live-your-life-in-ignorance/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crime" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-to-live-your-life-in-ignorance/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/robert-harris-2039_crime_how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-t_2533064.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/robert-harris-2039_crime_how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-t_2533064.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/robert-harris-2039_crime_how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-t_2533064.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How odd it is, thought March afterwards, to live your life in ignorance of the past, of your world…” — Robert Harris", "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": "Robert Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“How odd it is, thought March...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-to-live-your-life-in-ignorance/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/how-odd-it-is-thought-march-afterwards-to-live-your-life-in-ignorance/#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 } } ] } ```