--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And it was strange, I thought, that…" description: "\"And it was strange, I thought, that sorrow lasts and can make a man look forward to death, but the mood of victory fills a moment and then is over\" — V..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/v-s-naipaul-3828_death_and-it-was-strange-i-thought-that-sorrow_2514846.png" --- # And it was strange, I thought, that sorrow lasts and can… ![“And it was strange, I thought, that sorrow lasts and can make a man look forward to death, but the mood of victory fills a moment and then is over” quote by V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/v-s-naipaul-3828_death_and-it-was-strange-i-thought-that-sorrow_2514846.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/v-s-naipaul-3828_death_and-it-was-strange-i-thought-that-sorrow_2514846.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/v-s-naipaul-3828_death_and-it-was-strange-i-thought-that-sorrow_2514846.png) > “And it was strange, I thought, that sorrow lasts and can make a man look forward to death, but the mood of victory fills a moment and then is over” [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sorrow can paradoxically motivate thoughts toward death, while fleeting triumphs quickly fade. **In simple terms:** Pain may push toward endings; joy is brief. Key Takeaway Recognize the fleeting nature of both sorrow and triumph. Themes mortality transience psychology Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief processing - celebrating success - mental health counseling Key Concepts existential dread ephemeral joy Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain motivation after a victory? - What role does sorrow play in your life choices? A Different Perspective Joy can be fleeting and not always uplifting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [Death should take me while I am in the mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/death-should-take-me-while-i-am-in-the-mood/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Love's pleasure lasts but a moment; love's sorrow lasts all through life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/love-s-pleasure-lasts-but-a-moment-love-s-sorrow-lasts-all-through/) Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian > [Youth must be the worst time in anybody's life. 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There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/prosperity-pleasure-and-success-may-be-rough-of-grain-and-common-in-2/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I thought then that we would all die in the darkness and solitude. I thought that an executioner would come for us silently one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/i-thought-then-that-we-would-all-die-in-the-darkness-and-solitude-i/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [“We kept walking, our shadows moving in shifting blobs over the ground. The sound of river rocks rattled under our feet. We turned along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-kept-walking-our-shadows-moving-in-shifting-blobs-over-the-ground/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is nothing that stirs in the whole world of thought to which sorrow does not vibrate in terrible and exquisite pulsation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-is-nothing-that-stirs-in-the-whole-world-of-thought-to-which/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I had always thought that sorrow was the most exhausting of the emotions. Now I knew that it was anger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/i-had-always-thought-that-sorrow-was-the-most-exhausting-of-the/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Sorrow itself is not so hard to bear As the thought of sorrow coming. Airy ghosts, That work no harm, do terrify us more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/sorrow-itself-is-not-so-hard-to-bear-as-the-thought-of-sorrow-coming/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [“And as I stare out at the land, I think that this, if nothing else, is compelling evidence for my parents’ God, that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-as-i-stare-out-at-the-land-i-think-that-this-if-nothing-else-is/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Instead she stepped toward me. I had the strange thought that she wanted to come even closer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lane/instead-she-stepped-toward-me-i-had-the-strange-thought-that-she/) [Nina Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lane/) > [So small as to be negligible. It's strange, but there's something in that thought that makes me feel almost...free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/so-small-as-to-be-negligible-it-s-strange-but-there-s-something-in/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [God was something I did not understand the way kids who went to church did. They said God was a man in the sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-coleman/god-was-something-i-did-not-understand-the-way-kids-who-went-to/) [Melissa Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-coleman/) > [It was so strange because I thought Washington was going to be so grown-up, and everyone was going to be so nice. Then people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-linton/it-was-so-strange-because-i-thought-washington-was-going-to-be-so/) [Louise Linton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-linton/) ## More by V. S. Naipaul > [In Trinidad, where as new arrivals we were a disadvantaged community, that excluding idea was a kind of protection; it enabled us - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-trinidad-where-as-new-arrivals-we-were-a-disadvantaged-community/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [Many writers tend to write summing-up books at the end of their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/many-writers-tend-to-write-summing-up-books-at-the-end-of-their-lives/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [My life is short. I can't listen to banality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/my-life-is-short-i-can-t-listen-to-banality/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [If you decide to move to another country and to live within its laws you don't express your disregard for the essence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/if-you-decide-to-move-to-another-country-and-to-live-within-its-laws/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [I don't feel I can speak with authority for many other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-don-t-feel-i-can-speak-with-authority-for-many-other-people/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [To this day, if you ask me how I became a writer, I cannot give you an answer. To this day, if you ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/to-this-day-if-you-ask-me-how-i-became-a-writer-i-cannot-give-you-an/) [V. S. 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Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [In the beginning, before the arrival of the white men, I had considered myself neutral. I had wanted neither side to win, neither the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/in-the-beginning-before-the-arrival-of-the-white-men-i-had-considered/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [I'm my own writer. My material means I'm entirely separate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-m-my-own-writer-my-material-means-i-m-entirely-separate/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-only-lies-for-which-we-are-truly-punished-are-those-we-tell/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [I have always moved by intuition alone. I have no system, literary or political. I have no guiding political idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/i-have-always-moved-by-intuition-alone-i-have-no-system-literary-or/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [Where jargon turns living issues into abstractions, and where jargon ends by competing with jargon, people don't have causes. They only have enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/where-jargon-turns-living-issues-into-abstractions-and-where-jargon/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) [Explore all 121 V. S. 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You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. 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