--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As to our going on together as we were…" description: "\"“As to our going on together as we were going, in a sort of friendly way, the people round us would have made it unable to continue. Their views of the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/thomas-hardy-410_desire_as-to-our-going-on-together-as-we-were-g_1697837.jpg" --- # As to our going on together as we were going, in a sort of… ![“As to our going on together as we were going, in a sort of friendly way, the people round us would have made it unable to continue. Their views of the relations of man and woman are limited, as is proved by their expelling me from the school. Their philosophy only recognizes relations based on…” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/thomas-hardy-410_desire_as-to-our-going-on-together-as-we-were-g_1697837.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/thomas-hardy-410_desire_as-to-our-going-on-together-as-we-were-g_1697837.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/thomas-hardy-410_desire_as-to-our-going-on-together-as-we-were-g_1697837.jpg) > ““As to our going on together as we were going, in a sort of friendly way, the people round us would have made it unable to continue. Their views of the relations of man and woman are limited, as is proved by their expelling me from the school. Their philosophy only recognizes relations based on animal desire. The wide field of strong attachment where desire plays, at least, only a secondary part, is ignored by them—the part of—who is it?—Venus Urania.”” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques society’s narrow, animalistic view of gender relations, longing for a higher, spiritual love beyond mere desire. **In simple terms:** Society limits love to physical desire, ignoring deeper spiritual bonds. Key Takeaway Seek love that transcends physical desire. Themes gender society spirituality love philosophy Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - marriage - friendship - artistic collaboration - social critique Key Concepts human nature gender roles spiritual love Questions to Reflect On - How can we nurture spiritual connections in a materialistic world? - What limits do societal norms place on love? A Different Perspective Such ideal love may be unattainable within existing social structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-desire-1120766/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Man and woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-and-woman/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Recognizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-recognizes-1120765/) [Relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relations/) [Relations Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relations-man-261841/) [Venus Urania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/venus-urania-1120764/) ## Related quotes > [“I know women are taught by other women that they must never admit the full truth to a man. But the highest form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-know-women-are-taught-by-other-women-that-they-must-never-admit-the/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Let us face ourselves bravely as we are. For only a philosophy that recognizes reality can lead us into true happiness, and only that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/let-us-face-ourselves-bravely-as-we-are-for-only-a-philosophy-that/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Existentialist philosophy recognizes the existence of the individual as the real purpose of human life. The recognition is basically atheistic and it encourages the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goparaju-ramachandra-rao/existentialist-philosophy-recognizes-the-existence-of-the-individual/) [Goparaju Ramachandra Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goparaju-ramachandra-rao/) > [All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/all-the-president-is-is-a-glorified-public-relations-man-who-spends/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) > [Man's relations to man do not captivate my fancy. It is man's relation to the cosmos--to the unknown--which alone arouses in me the spark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/man-s-relations-to-man-do-not-captivate-my-fancy-it-is-man-s-relation/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [The relations between a man and his or her god is a personal matter; you can't go out and challenge the belief of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/the-relations-between-a-man-and-his-or-her-god-is-a-personal-matter/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“Well, all the President is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing and kicking people to get them do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/well-all-the-president-is-is-a-glorified-public-relations-man-who/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [The great fault of all ethics hitherto has been that they believed themselves to have to deal only with the relations of man to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/the-great-fault-of-all-ethics-hitherto-has-been-that-they-believed/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [In the relations of man with the animals, with the flowers, with all the objects of creation, there is a whole great ethic, scarcely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-the-relations-of-man-with-the-animals-with-the-flowers-with-all/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Science studies the relations of things to each other: but art studies only their relations to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/science-studies-the-relations-of-things-to-each-other-but-art-studies/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“Relations between a man and a woman are always strange: nothing can be foreseen, they have no predictable direction, no law. Sometimes you come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/relations-between-a-man-and-a-woman-are-always-strange-nothing-can-be/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations. Man's capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/educational-exchange-can-turn-nations-into-people-contributing-as-no/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [May be you can never understand the languages of different people, but you can always understand them with their behaviour...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-padhra/may-be-you-can-never-understand-the-languages-of-different-people-but/) [Rohit Padhra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-padhra/) > [“the quality of our social relations has been shown to be one of the best predictors for our emotional well-being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meik-wiking/the-quality-of-our-social-relations-has-been-shown-to-be-one-of-the/) [Meik Wiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meik-wiking/) > [The claim of the State Socialists, however, that this right would not be exercised in matters pertaining to the individual in the more intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-claim-of-the-state-socialists-however-that-this-right-would-not/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) ## More by Thomas Hardy > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“She was in a sound sleep, Jude, dying of anxiety lest she should have caught a chill which might permanently injure her, was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/she-was-in-a-sound-sleep-jude-dying-of-anxiety-lest-she-should-have/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You ride well, but you don't kiss nicely at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-ride-well-but-you-don-t-kiss-nicely-at-all/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks, or her ninth sparkling from her eyes; and even her fifth would flit over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-could-sometimes-see-her-twelfth-year-in-her-cheeks-or-her-ninth/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It was mid-May time, bringing with it weather not, perhaps, quite so blooming as that assumed to be natural to the month by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-mid-may-time-bringing-with-it-weather-not-perhaps-quite-so/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-galileo-had-said-in-verse-that-the-world-moved-the-inquisition/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Some folk want their luck buttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/some-folk-want-their-luck-buttered/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Measurement of life should be proportioned rather to the intensity of the experience than to its actual length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/measurement-of-life-should-be-proportioned-rather-to-the-intensity-of/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“I was court-martialed in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-was-court-martialed-in-my-absence-and-sentenced-to-death-in-my/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It being the first time in his life that he had touched female fingers under water, Dick duly registered the sensation as rather a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-being-the-first-time-in-his-life-that-he-had-touched-female/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“As soon as she could discern the outline of the house, it had all its old effect upon Tess's imagination. Part of her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/as-soon-as-she-could-discern-the-outline-of-the-house-it-had-all-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [ The perfect woman, you see \[is\] a working-woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who \[uses\] her hands and her head… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-perfect-woman-you-see-is-a-working-woman-not-an-idler-not-a-fine/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The Sinister Spirit sneered: 'It had to be!' And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, 'Why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-sinister-spirit-sneered-it-had-to-be-and-again-the-spirit-of-pity/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/justice-was-done-and-the-president-of-the-immortals-in-aeschylean/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Explore all 561 Thomas Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As to our going on together as we were going, in a sort of friendly way, the people round us would have made it unable to continue. Their views of the relations of man and woman are limited, as is proved by their expelling me from the school. Their philosophy only recognizes relations based on animal desire. 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