---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: there was the record of a pulsing life…"
description: "\"“there was the record of a pulsing life which had learnt too well, for its years, of the dust and ashes of things, of the cruelty of lust and the fragi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/thomas-hardy-410_life_there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-w_1985583.jpg"
---

#  there was the record of a pulsing life which had learnt…

![“there was the record of a pulsing life which had learnt too well, for its years, of the dust and ashes of things, of the cruelty of lust and the fragility of love” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/thomas-hardy-410_life_there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-w_1985583.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/thomas-hardy-410_life_there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-w_1985583.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/thomas-hardy-410_life_there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-w_1985583.jpg)

> ““there was the record of a pulsing life which had learnt too well, for its years, of the dust and ashes of things, of the cruelty of lust and the fragility of love””

[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.

The quote reflects on a life marked by suffering, desire, and the delicate nature of love, suggesting that experience teaches harsh lessons about human frailty.

**In simple terms:** Life teaches harsh lessons about love and desire.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and cherish love’s fragility.

Themes

suffering desire love human frailty

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- relationships
- grief counseling
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

existentialism romanticism

Questions to Reflect On

- How does suffering shape your view of love?
- Can you find strength amid fragility?

A Different Perspective

It may romanticize pain, ignoring resilience.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fragility Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragility-love-3413799/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Learnt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-learnt-1697997/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lust Fragility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust-fragility-3413798/) [Things Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-cruelty-1768566/) [Years Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-dust-2222868/)

## Related quotes

> [People should decide on the books' meanings for themselves. They'll find a story that attacks such things as cruelty, oppression, intolerance, unkindness, narrow-mindedness, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/people-should-decide-on-the-books-meanings-for-themselves-they-ll/)

[Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/)

> [For hundreds of thousands of years I have been dust-grains floating and flying in the will of the air, often forgetting ever being in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/for-hundreds-of-thousands-of-years-i-have-been-dust-grains-floating/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [“Such an awful fragility of love he thought that plans are made and broken and remade in these gaps between rational behavior.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-simonson/such-an-awful-fragility-of-love-he-thought-that-plans-are-made-and/)

[Helen Simonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-simonson/)

> [The fragility of love is what is most at stake here—humanity's most crucial three-word avowal is often uttered only to find itself suddenly embarrassing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-fragility-of-love-is-what-is-most-at-stake-here-humanity-s-most/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [“In life, I have learnt that the more I learnt about life, the sadder I became and the sadder I became the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manoj-vaz/in-life-i-have-learnt-that-the-more-i-learnt-about-life-the-sadder-i/)

[Manoj Vaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manoj-vaz/)

> [Big lessons of life are learnt from little mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/big-lessons-of-life-are-learnt-from-little-mistakes/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We deem those happy who from the experience of life have learnt to bear its ills without being overcome by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/we-deem-those-happy-who-from-the-experience-of-life-have-learnt-to/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [I learnt a whole lot from my mother. About music, relationships, being a good person, loving people, the whole of life. I learnt about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/i-learnt-a-whole-lot-from-my-mother-about-music-relationships-being-a/)

[R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/)

> [In life, I have learnt not to regret but to be thankful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-dumisani-ntuli/in-life-i-have-learnt-not-to-regret-but-to-be-thankful/)

[Simphiwe Dumisani Ntuli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-dumisani-ntuli/)

> [Valuable lesson in life is learnt from experience when one is subjected to various aspect of day to day event.Nothing more is so important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/valuable-lesson-in-life-is-learnt-from-experience-when-one-is/)

[DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/)

> [I have seen a lot of things in life, and learnt from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-chakraborty/i-have-seen-a-lot-of-things-in-life-and-learnt-from-them/)

[Mimi Chakraborty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mimi-chakraborty/)

> [Happiness and sadness is normal in life and any one who learnt live in this then he disserve life and life is for him/her](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak/happiness-and-sadness-is-normal-in-life-and-any-one-who-learnt-live/)

[Deepak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak/)

> [If you learn from the ups and downs. A time shall come there won't be an up. Learn from other people mistakes not on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-matobo/if-you-learn-from-the-ups-and-downs-a-time-shall-come-there-won-t-be/)

[Frank Matobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-matobo/)

> [It means a lot to me to be from London. Obviously, it's where I spent the majority of my life, it's where I learnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-gomez/it-means-a-lot-to-me-to-be-from-london-obviously-it-s-where-i-spent/)

[Joe Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-gomez/)

> [“She learnt how to give up on dreams she wasn't destined to dream about, and yet have the courage to breathe for a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanika-bankhad/she-learnt-how-to-give-up-on-dreams-she-wasn-t-destined-to-dream/)

[Kanika Bankhad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanika-bankhad/)

## 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 Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

[Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/)

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“there was the record of a pulsing life which had learnt too well, for its years, of the dust and ashes of things, of the cruelty of lust and the fragility of love”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Hardy"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-which-had-learnt-too-well-for/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-which-had-learnt-too-well-for/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/thomas-hardy-410_life_there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-w_1985583.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/thomas-hardy-410_life_there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-w_1985583.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/thomas-hardy-410_life_there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-w_1985583.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“there was the record of a pulsing life which had learnt too well, for its years, of the dust and ashes of…” — 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": "“there was the record of a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-which-had-learnt-too-well-for/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/there-was-the-record-of-a-pulsing-life-which-had-learnt-too-well-for/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
