--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And the end of all our exploring Will be…" description: "\"“And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time”\" — T.S. Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/t-s-eliot-2-1761_exploring_and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring-will-be_3026720.jpg" --- # And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where… ![“And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time” quote by T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/t-s-eliot-2-1761_exploring_and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring-will-be_3026720.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/t-s-eliot-2-1761_exploring_and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring-will-be_3026720.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/t-s-eliot-2-1761_exploring_and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring-will-be_3026720.jpg) > ““And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time”” [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exploration ends when we return home, recognizing familiar places anew. **In simple terms:** Returning home feels new. Key Takeaway Embrace familiar places with fresh eyes. Themes journey homecoming reflection Mood nostalgic contemplative Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - travel - career change - family reunion - retirement Key Concepts philosophy spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What does “home” mean to you? - How can you rediscover familiar surroundings? A Different Perspective Homecoming can feel like a loss of novelty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrive Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrive-started-4071868/) [End Exploring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-exploring-1126312/) [Exploring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploring/) [Exploring Arrive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploring-arrive-1126314/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Know Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-place/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we know we started and know the place for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/the-end-of-all-our-exploring-will-be-to-arrive-where-we-know-we/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-end-of-all-our-exploring-will-be-to-arrive-where-we-started/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We shall not cease from exploring, And the end of our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-shall-not-cease-from-exploring-and-the-end-of-our-exploring-will/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-must-not-cease-from-exploration-and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-shall-not-cease-from-exploration-and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-shall-not-cease-from-exploration-and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring-2/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The secret of the world is this: the world is entirely circular and you will go round and round endlessly, never finding what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-secret-of-the-world-is-this-the-world-is-entirely-circular-and/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/we-shall-not-cease-from-exploration-and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring-4/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“As we sincerely seek to understand and integrate these principles into our lives, I am convinced we will discover and rediscover the truth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosettabooks/as-we-sincerely-seek-to-understand-and-integrate-these-principles/) [RosettaBooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosettabooks/) > [“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-shall-not-cease-from-exploration-and-the-end-of-all-our-exploring-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I know my place. I always did. I just never knew how to get there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-taylor/i-know-my-place-i-always-did-i-just-never-knew-how-to-get-there/) [Luke Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-taylor/) > [I know there's place for me somewhere out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luphielia/i-know-there-s-place-for-me-somewhere-out-there/) [Luphielia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luphielia/) > [And I know there is some place I can go where no one knows my name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-green/and-i-know-there-is-some-place-i-can-go-where-no-one-knows-my-name/) [Dallas Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-green/) > [I think observers, like me, sometimes know more about a place than the people who have lived there all their lives. People are always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marsh/i-think-observers-like-me-sometimes-know-more-about-a-place-than-the/) [Jean Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marsh/) > [“ I know the place I know the place. It is true. Everything we do Corrects the space Between death and me And you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/i-know-the-place-i-know-the-place-it-is-true-everything-we-do/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) ## More by T.S. Eliot > [“I have measured out my life in coffee spoons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/i-have-measured-out-my-life-in-coffee-spoons/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum. What is to be insisted upon is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/shakespeare-acquired-more-essential-history-from-plutarch-than-most/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Bustopher Jones is not skin and bones — In fact, he's remarkably fat. He doesn't haunt pubs — he has eight or nine clubs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/bustopher-jones-is-not-skin-and-bones-in-fact-he-s-remarkably-fat-he/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Politic, cautious, and meticulous; full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/politic-cautious-and-meticulous-full-of-high-sentence-but-a-bit-obtuse/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Our beginnings never know our ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/our-beginnings-never-know-our-ends/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Oxford is very pretty, but I don't like to be dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/oxford-is-very-pretty-but-i-don-t-like-to-be-dead/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“We have therefore to inquire what there is about Machiavelli to impress the mind of Europe so prodigiously and so curiously, and why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/we-have-therefore-to-inquire-what-there-is-about-machiavelli-to/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And a hundred visions and revisions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/and-time-yet-for-a-hundred-indecisions-and-a-hundred-visions-and/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“The world turns and the world changes, But one thing does not change. In all of my years, one thing does not change, However…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/the-world-turns-and-the-world-changes-but-one-thing-does-not-change/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“It is essential that a work of art should be self-consistent, that an artist should consciously or unconsciously draw a circle beyond which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/it-is-essential-that-a-work-of-art-should-be-self-consistent-that-an/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“By destroying traditional social habits of the people, by dissolving their natural collective consciousness into individual constituents, by licensing the opinions of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/by-destroying-traditional-social-habits-of-the-people-by-dissolving/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“We returned to our palaces, these Kingdoms, but no longer at ease here in the old dispensation, with an alien people clutching their gods.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/we-returned-to-our-palaces-these-kingdoms-but-no-longer-at-ease-here/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“…Lady of silences Calm and distressed Torn and most whole Rose of memory Rose of forgetfulness Exhausted and life-giving Worried reposeful The single Rose…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/lady-of-silences-calm-and-distressed-torn-and-most-whole-rose-of/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Destiny waits in the hand of god, shaping the still unshapen..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/destiny-waits-in-the-hand-of-god-shaping-the-still-unshapen/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/i-said-to-my-soul-be-still-and-wait-without-hope-for-hope-would-be-2/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) [Explore all 206 T.S. Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) ## More Exploring quotes > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [I somewhere along the way became fascinated with exploring characters who are willing to put themselves into violent situations, whether it's football, hockey, boxing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-berg/i-somewhere-along-the-way-became-fascinated-with-exploring-characters/) [Peter Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-berg/) > [For me, it's very easy to write a horror movie that's just a succession of scary sequences, but it's hard to find horror movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ehren-kruger/for-me-it-s-very-easy-to-write-a-horror-movie-that-s-just-a/) [Ehren Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ehren-kruger/) > ['SoulPancake' is a website that I founded with a couple of friends, and it is for exploring life's big questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainn-wilson/soulpancake-is-a-website-that-i-founded-with-a-couple-of-friends-and/) [Rainn Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainn-wilson/) > [It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-of-exploring-the-living-world-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Science is about exploring the unknown and cannot offer guarantees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/science-is-about-exploring-the-unknown-and-cannot-offer-guarantees/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [What I love is dropping into someone else's life and exploring it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/what-i-love-is-dropping-into-someone-else-s-life-and-exploring-it/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [I often attribute my screenwriting to journalism because they drill in the who, what, when, where and why - but we really need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-brock-akil/i-often-attribute-my-screenwriting-to-journalism-because-they-drill/) [Mara Brock Akil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-brock-akil/) > [Insofar as she recognized at all that she was dreaming, she realized that she must be exploring her subconscious mind. She had heard it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/insofar-as-she-recognized-at-all-that-she-was-dreaming-she-realized/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [If you're in such a position of power and your ego is such that this is not possible, then its essential to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/if-you-re-in-such-a-position-of-power-and-your-ego-is-such-that-this/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [The only TV I would be interested in exploring would be live television. There's no substitute for a team of artists performing at their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/the-only-tv-i-would-be-interested-in-exploring-would-be-live/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [I think if you write about human relationships, you're always exploring the psyche and the soul. I don't separate certain - perhaps more extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadie-jones/i-think-if-you-write-about-human-relationships-you-re-always/) [Sadie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadie-jones/) [Browse all 735 Exploring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploring/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T.S. 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