--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man eternally tries to get back to an…" description: "\"Man eternally tries to get back to an organic past that has slipped just beyond his reach.\" — Terry Eagleton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/terry-eagleton-1660_eternally_man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-or_1281366.png" --- # Man eternally tries to get back to an organic past that… ![“Man eternally tries to get back to an organic past that has slipped just beyond his reach.” quote by Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/terry-eagleton-1660_eternally_man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-or_1281366.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/terry-eagleton-1660_eternally_man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-or_1281366.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/terry-eagleton-1660_eternally_man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-or_1281366.png) > “Man eternally tries to get back to an organic past that has slipped just beyond his reach.” [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans long for a lost natural state that feels out of reach, shaping culture and identity. **In simple terms:** People yearn for a past nature. Key Takeaway Recognize and balance nostalgia with present reality. Themes nostalgia identity modernity Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - urban planning - personal reflection - cultural analysis Key Concepts postmodern critique environmental longing Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of the past do you idealize? - How can you integrate natural elements today? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can hinder adaptation to current challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternally/) [Eternally Tries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternally-tries-4141767/) [Get back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get-back/) [Man Eternally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-eternally-4141766/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Organic Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organic-past-4141769/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Slipped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-slipped-4141768/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [All things look good from far away and it is man's eternally persistent childlike faith in the reality of that illusion that has made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rockwell-kent/all-things-look-good-from-far-away-and-it-is-man-s-eternally/) [Rockwell Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rockwell-kent/) > [Love that is cleansed by tears will remain eternally pure and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/love-that-is-cleansed-by-tears-will-remain-eternally-pure-and/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“Children are born with a desire to have meaning. Give them Jesus, and they will have it eternally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-hope-wagner/children-are-born-with-a-desire-to-have-meaning-give-them-jesus-and/) [alisa hope wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-hope-wagner/) > [Truth is on a curve whose asymptote our spirit follows eternally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-errera/truth-is-on-a-curve-whose-asymptote-our-spirit-follows-eternally/) [Leo Errera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-errera/) > [The Giver of Existence is Eternally Existent; there is no harm, therefore, in the passing of beings, for the things that are loved continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-nursi/the-giver-of-existence-is-eternally-existent-there-is-no-harm/) [Said Nursi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-nursi/) > [For what mission can be greater than that of giving to the world hours of exaltation in which it may forget the misery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lotte-lehmann/for-what-mission-can-be-greater-than-that-of-giving-to-the-world/) [Lotte Lehmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lotte-lehmann/) > [One can remain eternally young if, each day, one grows rich by marvelous moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romy-schneider/one-can-remain-eternally-young-if-each-day-one-grows-rich-by/) [Romy Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romy-schneider/) > [Me and Mariah are both Aries and we're both eternally twelve, so we hit it off from the get go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-brat/me-and-mariah-are-both-aries-and-we-re-both-eternally-twelve-so-we/) [Da Brat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/da-brat/) > [I am an eternally curious person, but I wouldn't go to such lengths to know what it is like to be someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-carter/i-am-an-eternally-curious-person-but-i-wouldn-t-go-to-such-lengths-to/) [Matthew Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-carter/) > [“Your circumstances may change, but who you truly are remains forever the same. Your identity is eternally secure in Christ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holley-gerth/your-circumstances-may-change-but-who-you-truly-are-remains-forever/) [Holley Gerth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holley-gerth/) > [I look up to Mick Jagger because he's an amazing performer and he's such an individual. I respect him and admire him eternally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-justice/i-look-up-to-mick-jagger-because-he-s-an-amazing-performer-and-he-s/) [Victoria Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-justice/) > [Geometry is knowledge of the eternally existent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/geometry-is-knowledge-of-the-eternally-existent/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [“I mean, I'm with him, and he's with me, and that's the way it's meant to eternally be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-noel/i-mean-i-m-with-him-and-he-s-with-me-and-that-s-the-way-it-s-meant-to/) [Alyson Noel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-noel/) > [All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-not-eternal-is-eternally-out-of-date/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If memory survived eternally, then indeed there might be justification for a belief in hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/if-memory-survived-eternally-then-indeed-there-might-be-justification/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) ## More by Terry Eagleton > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The study of history and philosophy, accompanied by some acquaintance with art and literature, should be for lawyers and engineers as well as for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-study-of-history-and-philosophy-accompanied-by-some-acquaintance/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [To claim that science and religion pose different questions to the world is not to suggest that if the bones of Jesus were discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/to-claim-that-science-and-religion-pose-different-questions-to-the/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“Evil may be 'unscientific' but so is a song or a smile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/evil-may-be-unscientific-but-so-is-a-song-or-a-smile/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Virtue is something you have to get good at, like playing the trombone or tolerating bores at parties. Being a virtuous human being takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/virtue-is-something-you-have-to-get-good-at-like-playing-the-trombone/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [All propaganda or popularization involves a putting of the complex into the simple, but such a move is instantly not constructive. For if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/all-propaganda-or-popularization-involves-a-putting-of-the-complex/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [God chose what is weakest in the world to shame the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/god-chose-what-is-weakest-in-the-world-to-shame-the-strong/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Reading is not a straightforward linear movement, a merely cumulative affair: our initial speculations generate a frame of reference within which to interpret what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/reading-is-not-a-straightforward-linear-movement-a-merely-cumulative/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“What it means to be a ‘better person’, then, must be concrete and practical — that is to say, concerned with people’s political situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/what-it-means-to-be-a-better-person-then-must-be-concrete-and/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“What we consume now is not objects or events, but our experience of them. Just as we never need to leave our cars, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/what-we-consume-now-is-not-objects-or-events-but-our-experience-of/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“The theatre can teach us some truth, but it is the truth of the illusory nature of our existence. It can alert us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-theatre-can-teach-us-some-truth-but-it-is-the-truth-of-the/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“What we have witnessed in our own time is the death of universities as centres of critique. Since Margaret Thatcher, the role of academia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/what-we-have-witnessed-in-our-own-time-is-the-death-of-universities/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [In the deep night of metaphysics, all cats look black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/in-the-deep-night-of-metaphysics-all-cats-look-black/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [We face a conflict between civilisation and culture, which used to be on the same side. Civilisation means rational reflection, material wellbeing, individual autonomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/we-face-a-conflict-between-civilisation-and-culture-which-used-to-be/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) [Explore all 215 Terry Eagleton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## More Eternally quotes > [If memory survived eternally, then indeed there might be justification for a belief in hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/if-memory-survived-eternally-then-indeed-there-might-be-justification/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-not-eternal-is-eternally-out-of-date/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I mean, I'm with him, and he's with me, and that's the way it's meant to eternally be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-noel/i-mean-i-m-with-him-and-he-s-with-me-and-that-s-the-way-it-s-meant-to/) [Alyson Noel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-noel/) > [Geometry is knowledge of the eternally existent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/geometry-is-knowledge-of-the-eternally-existent/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [I look up to Mick Jagger because he's an amazing performer and he's such an individual. I respect him and admire him eternally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-justice/i-look-up-to-mick-jagger-because-he-s-an-amazing-performer-and-he-s/) [Victoria Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-justice/) > [“Your circumstances may change, but who you truly are remains forever the same. Your identity is eternally secure in Christ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holley-gerth/your-circumstances-may-change-but-who-you-truly-are-remains-forever/) [Holley Gerth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holley-gerth/) > [I am an eternally curious person, but I wouldn't go to such lengths to know what it is like to be someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-carter/i-am-an-eternally-curious-person-but-i-wouldn-t-go-to-such-lengths-to/) [Matthew Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-carter/) > [Me and Mariah are both Aries and we're both eternally twelve, so we hit it off from the get go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-brat/me-and-mariah-are-both-aries-and-we-re-both-eternally-twelve-so-we/) [Da Brat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/da-brat/) > [One can remain eternally young if, each day, one grows rich by marvelous moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romy-schneider/one-can-remain-eternally-young-if-each-day-one-grows-rich-by/) [Romy Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romy-schneider/) > [For what mission can be greater than that of giving to the world hours of exaltation in which it may forget the misery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lotte-lehmann/for-what-mission-can-be-greater-than-that-of-giving-to-the-world/) [Lotte Lehmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lotte-lehmann/) > [The Giver of Existence is Eternally Existent; there is no harm, therefore, in the passing of beings, for the things that are loved continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-nursi/the-giver-of-existence-is-eternally-existent-there-is-no-harm/) [Said Nursi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-nursi/) > [Truth is on a curve whose asymptote our spirit follows eternally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-errera/truth-is-on-a-curve-whose-asymptote-our-spirit-follows-eternally/) [Leo Errera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-errera/) > [“Children are born with a desire to have meaning. Give them Jesus, and they will have it eternally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-hope-wagner/children-are-born-with-a-desire-to-have-meaning-give-them-jesus-and/) [alisa hope wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-hope-wagner/) > [Love that is cleansed by tears will remain eternally pure and beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/love-that-is-cleansed-by-tears-will-remain-eternally-pure-and/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [For the rest of my life?" His voice softens. "Do you want that, Ella May? Do you want me eternally, infinitely, forever, till death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/for-the-rest-of-my-life-his-voice-softens-do-you-want-that-ella-may/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) [Browse all 131 Eternally quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternally/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man eternally tries to get back to an organic past that has slipped just beyond his reach.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terry Eagleton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-organic-past-that-has-slipped/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternally" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-organic-past-that-has-slipped/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/terry-eagleton-1660_eternally_man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-or_1281366.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/terry-eagleton-1660_eternally_man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-or_1281366.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/terry-eagleton-1660_eternally_man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-or_1281366.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man eternally tries to get back to an organic past that has slipped just beyond his reach.” — Terry Eagleton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Terry Eagleton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Man eternally tries to get back...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-organic-past-that-has-slipped/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/man-eternally-tries-to-get-back-to-an-organic-past-that-has-slipped/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```