Medicine Quote by Sherwood Anderson
““The girl and Doctor Reefy began their courtship on a summer afternoon. He was forty-five then and already he had begun the practice of filling his pockets with the scraps of paper that became hard balls and were thrown away. The habit had been formed as he sat in his buggy behind the jaded white horse and went slowly along country roads. On the papers were written thoughts, ends of thoughts, beginnings of thoughts. One by one the mind of Doctor Reefy had made the thoughts. Out of many of them he formed a truth that arose gigantic in his mind. The truth clouded the world. It became terrible and then faded away and the little thoughts began again. ("Paper Pills")””
About This Quote
Source Short story: “Paper Pills” (published 1919) by Sherwood Anderson
A man collects fragmented thoughts, builds a massive truth, which then overwhelms and collapses, returning to small ideas.
In simple terms: Collecting thoughts can create a huge, fragile truth that may collapse.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the limits of building grand ideas from scattered fragments.
Themes
creativity
knowledge
impermanence
Mood
introspective
poetic
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- writing
- philosophical
Key Concepts
fragmentation
truth construction
ephemeral ideas
Questions to Reflect On
- What makes a constructed truth vulnerable?
- How can we balance detail with overarching insight?
A Different Perspective
A single grand truth may be unstable and revert to basics.
![“In the beginning when the world was young there were a great many thoughts but no such thing as a truth. Man made the truths himself and each truth was a composite of a great many vague thoughts. All about in the world were the truths and they were all beautiful. [...] There was the truth of…” quote by Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e8a/sherwood-anderson-2780_old-man_in-the-beginning-when-the-world-was-youn_1205225.jpg)
