Active Quote by T. S. Eliot
“We must believe that "emotion recollected in tranquillity" is an inexact formula. For it is neither emotion, nor recollection, nor without distortion of meaning, tranquillity. It is a concentration, and a new thing resulting from the concentration of a very great number of experiences which to the practical and active person would not seem to be experiences at all; it is a concentration which does not happen consciously or of deliberation. These experiences are not "recollected" and they finally unite in an atmosphere which is "tranquil" only in that it is a passive attending upon the event.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: "The Metaphysical Poets" by T. S. Eliot, 1921
The quote suggests that true insight arises from a deep, unconscious synthesis of many experiences, not from deliberate recollection.
In simple terms: Insight comes from a quiet, unconscious blend of many experiences.
Key Takeaway
Seek quiet reflection to let experiences integrate.
Themes
reflection
insight
experience
consciousness
Mood
thoughtful
introspective
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- creative writing
- philosophical contemplation
- personal meditation
Key Concepts
Synthesis
unconscious processing
mental concentration
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you cultivate quiet concentration?
- What experiences might you be overlooking?
A Different Perspective
The process may be hard to control and can blur clarity.
![“[She] had heard it said that there was only one emotion which, in recollection, was capable of resurrecting the full immediacy and power of the original—one emotion that time could never fade, and that would drag you back any number of years into the pure, undiluted feeling, as if you were living…” quote by Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/428/laini-taylor-258_recollection_she-had-heard-it-said-that-there-was-onl_2615203.jpg)
![“the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. [He] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with each other, or with the noise of the typewriter, or the smell of cooking; in the mind of the poet these experiences are always forming new wholes” quote by T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/18e/t-s-eliot-633_art_the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic_93688.jpg)
