Belief Quote by Shirley Hazzard
“It is the impulse of our century, with its nearly religious belief in magnitude, to fling an institution into every void.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Transit of Venus, 1980
Society pushes institutions into every empty space, driven by a quasi‑religious belief in grand scale.
In simple terms: Institutions fill empty spaces due to ambition.
Key Takeaway
Question the need for constant expansion.
Themes
societal pressure
institutional growth
ambition
Mood
critical
thoughtful
Type
analytical
skeptical
When to use this quote
- urban planning
- corporate expansion
- academic programs
- policy making
Key Concepts
sociology
culture
scale
Questions to Reflect On
- What voids truly need filling?
- When does expansion become excess?
A Different Perspective
Risk of diluting quality when expanding for its own sake.
![“But that's a way to go on loving--a place, or a person. To miss it. In fact, to go away, to put yourself in the state of missing, is sometimes the simplest way to preserve love. [p. 56]” quote by Shirley Hazzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0c8/shirley-hazzard-9123_love_but-that-s-a-way-to-go-on-loving-a-place_217052.jpg)
![“I said, "Some people do know more than others. That contributes to the impression that someone, somewhere,knows the whole thing." [p. 38]” quote by Shirley Hazzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b33/shirley-hazzard-9123_quote_i-said-some-people-do-know-more-than-oth_287729.jpg)
