--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was then that the ecstasy and the…" description: "\"It was then that the ecstasy and the dream began, in which emotion was the matter of the universe, and matter but an adventitious intrusion likely to h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/thomas-hardy-410_dream_it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dre_1554243.jpg" --- # It was then that the ecstasy and the dream began, in which… ![“It was then that the ecstasy and the dream began, in which emotion was the matter of the universe, and matter but an adventitious intrusion likely to hinder you from spinning where you wanted to spin.” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/thomas-hardy-410_dream_it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dre_1554243.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/thomas-hardy-410_dream_it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dre_1554243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/thomas-hardy-410_dream_it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dre_1554243.jpg) > “It was then that the ecstasy and the dream began, in which emotion was the matter of the universe, and matter but an adventitious intrusion likely to hinder you from spinning where you wanted to spin.” [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. Emotion is the fundamental force of the universe, while material concerns are secondary and can impede personal destiny. **In simple terms:** Emotion drives life; material things can hinder purpose. Key Takeaway Prioritize emotional truth over material distractions. Themes emotion universe purpose materialism spirituality Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - creative work - personal crises - life decisions - spiritual quests Key Concepts philosophical existentialism human desire inner drive Questions to Reflect On - What material concerns hold you back? - How can you balance feeling with reality? 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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. 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Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. 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I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was then that the ecstasy and the dream began, in which emotion was the matter of the universe, and matter but an adventitious intrusion likely to hinder you from spinning where you wanted to spin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Hardy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dream-began-in-which-emotion-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dream-began-in-which-emotion-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/thomas-hardy-410_dream_it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dre_1554243.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/thomas-hardy-410_dream_it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dre_1554243.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/thomas-hardy-410_dream_it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dre_1554243.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was then that the ecstasy and the dream began, in which emotion was the matter of the universe, and…” — Thomas Hardy", "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": "Thomas Hardy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It was then that the ecstasy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dream-began-in-which-emotion-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-then-that-the-ecstasy-and-the-dream-began-in-which-emotion-was/#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 } } ] } ```