--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Later, when his desires had been…" description: "\"“Later, when his desires had been satisfied, he slept in an odorous whorehouse, snoring lustily next to an insomniac tart, and dreamed. He could dream ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/salman-rushdie-153_dreamed_later-when-his-desires-had-been-satisfie_3063764.jpg" --- # Later, when his desires had been satisfied, he slept in an… ![“Later, when his desires had been satisfied, he slept in an odorous whorehouse, snoring lustily next to an insomniac tart, and dreamed. He could dream in seven languages: Italian, Spanic, Arabic, Persian, Russian, English and Portughese. He had picked up languages the way most sailors picked up…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/salman-rushdie-153_dreamed_later-when-his-desires-had-been-satisfie_3063764.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/salman-rushdie-153_dreamed_later-when-his-desires-had-been-satisfie_3063764.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/salman-rushdie-153_dreamed_later-when-his-desires-had-been-satisfie_3063764.jpg) > ““Later, when his desires had been satisfied, he slept in an odorous whorehouse, snoring lustily next to an insomniac tart, and dreamed. He could dream in seven languages: Italian, Spanic, Arabic, Persian, Russian, English and Portughese. He had picked up languages the way most sailors picked up diseases; languages were his gonorrhea, his syphilis, his scurvy, his ague,his plague. As soon as he fell asleep half the world started babbling in his brain, telling wondrous travelers' tales. In this half-discovered world every day brought news of fresh enchantments. The visionary, revelatory dream-poetry of the quotidian had not yet been crushed by blinkered, prosy fact. Himself a teller of tales, he had been driven out of his door by stories of wonder, and by one in particular, a story which could make his fortune or else cost him his life.”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A storyteller’s mind is a fevered tapestry of languages and dreams, each new tongue a contagion that fuels imagination and peril. **In simple terms:** Dreams and languages mix, creating both wonder and danger. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse ideas but beware their risks. Themes imagination language danger storytelling identity Mood melancholic hopeful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - travel writing - creative writing - personal reflection - cultural commentary Key Concepts cultural diffusion psycho‑linguistics creative contagion Questions to Reflect On - How do new languages reshape your worldview? - What price do you pay for relentless curiosity? A Different Perspective The metaphor of disease may over‑dramatize linguistic acquisition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-poetry-564090/) [Dream Seven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-seven-312917/) [Dreamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreamed/) [Dreamed Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreamed-dream-532606/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Seven Languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven-languages-3152706/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [“My female friends said that seven days were long enough for a dream. But for me, those seven days were long enough to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-female-friends-said-that-seven-days-were-long-enough-for-a-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I'm most deeply involved in my writing, sometimes I do dream about poetry, and occasionally I wake up from a dream with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/when-i-m-most-deeply-involved-in-my-writing-sometimes-i-do-dream/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [“I dreamed a dream when I was sixteen and here I am, standing with my dream, feeling it come real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-dreamed-a-dream-when-i-was-sixteen-and-here-i-am-standing-with-my/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“I dreamed a dream and there I was, a ring on my finger, my man's mouth on mine, standing with my dream, feeling it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-dreamed-a-dream-and-there-i-was-a-ring-on-my-finger-my-man-s-mouth/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“I dreamed a dream, Shy Cage." He shifted so his hips were against mine and his voice was now raw when he ordered, "Shut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-dreamed-a-dream-shy-cage-he-shifted-so-his-hips-were-against-mine/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“See--two who dreamed that dream, and you were one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caris-brooke/see-two-who-dreamed-that-dream-and-you-were-one/) [Caris Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caris-brooke/) > [And he dreamed the dream of all those who publish books, which was to have so much gold in your pockets that you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/and-he-dreamed-the-dream-of-all-those-who-publish-books-which-was-to/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I walked beside the evening sea And dreamed a dream that could not be; The waves that plunged along the shore Said only: "Dreamer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-william-curtis/i-walked-beside-the-evening-sea-and-dreamed-a-dream-that-could-not-be/) [George William Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-william-curtis/) > [The only way to learn a language properly, in fact, is to marry a man of that nationality. You get what they call in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabor/the-only-way-to-learn-a-language-properly-in-fact-is-to-marry-a-man/) [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zsa-zsa-gabor/) > [I have been working in seven languages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-kulkarni/i-have-been-working-in-seven-languages/) [Atul Kulkarni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-kulkarni/) > [I was born into a Turkish family that had acquired Italian citizenship. Many members of the family subsequently became British, French, Brazilian, and German,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-was-born-into-a-turkish-family-that-had-acquired-italian/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I believe that to be an efficient writer, one must be able to write in more than one language. I know over seven languages.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/i-believe-that-to-be-an-efficient-writer-one-must-be-able-to-write-in/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [“She says she speaks seven languages, really it’s more like thirteen and she understands even more than”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-ann-healy/she-says-she-speaks-seven-languages-really-it-s-more-like-thirteen/) [Nancy Ann Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-ann-healy/) > [In our generation, everybody told us that it's really important and it's nice to be able to speak a lot of languages. It's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele-exarchopoulos/in-our-generation-everybody-told-us-that-it-s-really-important-and-it/) [Adele Exarchopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele-exarchopoulos/) > [Though I do manage to mumble around in about seven or eight languages, English remains the most beautiful of languages. It will do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/though-i-do-manage-to-mumble-around-in-about-seven-or-eight-languages/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Dreamed quotes > [I dreamed for a lover, I dreamed for a friend, and in the end I got a lover and a friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dreamed-for-a-lover-i-dreamed-for-a-friend-and-in-the-end-i-got-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the Internet's highest-profile companies, Priceline once dreamed of transforming the way consumer goods are bought and sold by offering customers the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/one-of-the-internet-s-highest-profile-companies-priceline-once/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [“My mom believed that you make your own luck. Over the stove she had hung these old, maroon painted letters that spell out, “MANIFEST.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-laybourne/my-mom-believed-that-you-make-your-own-luck-over-the-stove-she-had/) [Emmy Laybourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-laybourne/) > [A long time ago when I was very little, I dreamed about being on stage. Some people told me I would never be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-potter/a-long-time-ago-when-i-was-very-little-i-dreamed-about-being-on-stage/) [Lauren Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-potter/) > [I've always dreamed big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-collins/i-ve-always-dreamed-big/) [Gemma Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-collins/) > [As a precocious teen I dreamed of being Graham Greene. Well, as it turned out, I never wrote a great novel, sadly, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-burchill/as-a-precocious-teen-i-dreamed-of-being-graham-greene-well-as-it/) [Julie Burchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-burchill/) > [My mother dreamed dreams for Joaquin and for me long before we could dream them for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-castro/my-mother-dreamed-dreams-for-joaquin-and-for-me-long-before-we-could/) [Julian Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-castro/) > [“It was a world that most fans never saw. One that many dreamed of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-mensch/it-was-a-world-that-most-fans-never-saw-one-that-many-dreamed-of/) [Louise Mensch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-mensch/) > [I dreamed big. So it's so great to be living my own dream. I'm working in an industry that I want to work in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-strahovski/i-dreamed-big-so-it-s-so-great-to-be-living-my-own-dream-i-m-working/) [Yvonne Strahovski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-strahovski/) > [Since my childhood, I dreamed of wearing the Black and Yellow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-reus/since-my-childhood-i-dreamed-of-wearing-the-black-and-yellow/) [Marco Reus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-reus/) > [“I woke myself in the darkness, and I knew only that a dream had scared me so badly that I had to wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-woke-myself-in-the-darkness-and-i-knew-only-that-a-dream-had-scared/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I never dreamed I would one day work at it White House.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hughes/i-never-dreamed-i-would-one-day-work-at-it-white-house/) [Karen Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hughes/) > [I always dreamed of making it in baseball, but life has moved pretty quickly for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-trout/i-always-dreamed-of-making-it-in-baseball-but-life-has-moved-pretty/) [Mike Trout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-trout/) > [Worse than not realizing the dreams of your youth, would be to have been young and never dreamed at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/worse-than-not-realizing-the-dreams-of-your-youth-would-be-to-have/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [I was never a girl who dreamed about what her wedding day would be like, but I've always dreamed about decorating my baby's nursery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-romijn/i-was-never-a-girl-who-dreamed-about-what-her-wedding-day-would-be/) [Rebecca Romijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-romijn/) [Browse all 957 Dreamed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreamed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Later, when his desires had been satisfied, he slept in an odorous whorehouse, snoring lustily next to an insomniac tart, and dreamed. 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