--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems that a profound, impartial, and…" description: "\"“It seems that a profound, impartial, and absolutely just opinion of our fellow-creatures is utterly unknown. Either we are men, or we are women. Eithe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d3/virginia-woolf-49_god-knows_it-seems-that-a-profound-impartial-and-a_2010129.jpg" --- # It seems that a profound, impartial, and absolutely just… ![“It seems that a profound, impartial, and absolutely just opinion of our fellow-creatures is utterly unknown. Either we are men, or we are women. Either we are cold, or we are sentimental. Either we are young, or growing old. In any case life is but a procession of shadows, and God knows why it is…” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d3/virginia-woolf-49_god-knows_it-seems-that-a-profound-impartial-and-a_2010129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d3/virginia-woolf-49_god-knows_it-seems-that-a-profound-impartial-and-a_2010129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d3/virginia-woolf-49_god-knows_it-seems-that-a-profound-impartial-and-a_2010129.jpg) > ““It seems that a profound, impartial, and absolutely just opinion of our fellow-creatures is utterly unknown. Either we are men, or we are women. Either we are cold, or we are sentimental. Either we are young, or growing old. In any case life is but a procession of shadows, and God knows why it is that we embrace them so eagerly, and see them depart with such anguish, being shadows. And why, if this -- and much more than this is true -- why are we yet surprised in the window corner by a sudden vision that the young man in the chair is of all things in the world the most real, the most solid, the best known to us--why indeed? For the moment after we know nothing about him. Such is the manner of our seeing. Such the conditions of our love.”” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human perception is fragmented, oscillating between cold rationality and tender sentiment, making life feel like fleeting shadows whose meaning eludes us. **In simple terms:** We see life as fleeting shadows, never fully understood. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and seek depth beyond appearances. Themes perception existence duality love time Mood melancholic reflective introspective Type philosophical literary poetic When to use this quote - reading literature - philosophical contemplation - artistic creation - personal introspection Key Concepts phenomenology subjectivity existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile rational and sentimental aspects of yourself? - What shadows dominate your perception of life? A Different Perspective Our limited perspective can never capture the whole truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-knows/) [Growing old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-old/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Profound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound/) [Profound Impartial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound-impartial-3586047/) [Sentimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimental/) [Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows/) [Shadows True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows-true-3586048/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Young man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/) ## Related quotes > [George Macdonald said, 'If you knew what God knows about death you would clap your listless hands', but instead I find old people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/george-macdonald-said-if-you-knew-what-god-knows-about-death-you/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [The compensation of growing old ... was simply this; that the passion remains as strong as ever, but one has gained -- at last!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-compensation-of-growing-old-was-simply-this-that-the-passion/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Peter would think her sentimental. So she was. For she had come to feel that it was the only thing worth saying – what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/peter-would-think-her-sentimental-so-she-was-for-she-had-come-to-feel/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sometimes seeing the changes in one another had the opposite effect and actually comforted them. Seeing that they weren’t alone in growing older, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/sometimes-seeing-the-changes-in-one-another-had-the-opposite-effect/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [“The freedom of growing older is that one is no longer obliged to dislike someone simply because they dislike you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-fellowes/the-freedom-of-growing-older-is-that-one-is-no-longer-obliged-to/) [Julian Fellowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-fellowes/) > [I look forward to growing old and wise and audacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/i-look-forward-to-growing-old-and-wise-and-audacious/) [Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/) > [The people I've respected most in the industry over the years - Paul Newman, for instance. I just loved the way he handled growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-people-i-ve-respected-most-in-the-industry-over-the-years-paul/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [M is for the million things she gave me, O means only that she's growing old, T is for the tears she shed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/m-is-for-the-million-things-she-gave-me-o-means-only-that-she-s/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The time to begin most things is ten years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-time-to-begin-most-things-is-ten-years-ago/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Virginia Woolf > [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More God knows quotes > [People often take me wrong I didn't feel bad I just smile beause onely god knows what is in person heart :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/musfirah/people-often-take-me-wrong-i-didn-t-feel-bad-i-just-smile-beause/) [Musfirah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/musfirah/) > [Single Truth Behind EveryHEART-ACHELOVE Hurts WhenGOD Knows¦You Deserves SomeoneElse ¦.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinku-razoria/single-truth-behind-everyheart-achelove-hurts-whengod-knows-you/) [Tinku Razoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinku-razoria/) > [Life is like riding on a bus. God is the driver and I am the passenger. Have faith God knows which route to take.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefroy-hanson/life-is-like-riding-on-a-bus-god-is-the-driver-and-i-am-the-passenger/) [Jefroy Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefroy-hanson/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) > [I care more about what God knows than what man says.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-mustaine/i-care-more-about-what-god-knows-than-what-man-says/) [Dave Mustaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-mustaine/) > [God alone knows how great it is. All I hope is that it is not too late. I am very much afraid that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/god-alone-knows-how-great-it-is-all-i-hope-is-that-it-is-not-too-late/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“You think my feelings toward you apathetic? You think you bore me?” “Don’t I?” He shook his head slowly, continuing toward her, stalking her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/you-think-my-feelings-toward-you-apathetic-you-think-you-bore-me-don/) [Sarah MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-maclean/) > [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/) [Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/) > [ Does God know he \[exists\]?" "Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [God knows we are subtle creatures who are more than able to use candour to avoid acknowledging our deceptions of others and ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/god-knows-we-are-subtle-creatures-who-are-more-than-able-to-use/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [“The last days before graduation are bad enough, God knows--out of the womb you go, ready or not. The halls rang with the laughter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-savage/the-last-days-before-graduation-are-bad-enough-god-knows-out-of-the/) [Elizabeth Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-savage/) > [“Women are odd. I really mean that. A woman doesn't know the effect she has on a man. Any woman affects every man with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gash/women-are-odd-i-really-mean-that-a-woman-doesn-t-know-the-effect-she/) [Jonathan Gash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gash/) > [“There’s strength in observing one’s miniaturization. That you are insignificant and prone to, and God knows, dumb about a lot. Because doesn’t smallness prime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/there-s-strength-in-observing-one-s-miniaturization-that-you-are/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [God knows what is best for us, and He will lead us to where we need to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mild-z-de-asis/god-knows-what-is-best-for-us-and-he-will-lead-us-to-where-we-need-to/) [Mild'z De Asis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mild-z-de-asis/) > [“Poor Chameli. Born an anomaly and abandoned at birth. God knows what she must have gone through as a child. How many times must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faiqa-mansab/poor-chameli-born-an-anomaly-and-abandoned-at-birth-god-knows-what/) [Faiqa Mansab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faiqa-mansab/) [Browse all 1,124 God knows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-knows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It seems that a profound, impartial, and absolutely just opinion of our fellow-creatures is utterly unknown. Either we are men, or we are women. Either we are cold, or we are sentimental. Either we are young, or growing old. In any case life is but a procession of shadows, and God knows why it is that we embrace them so eagerly, and see them depart with such anguish, being shadows. And why, if this -- and much more than this is true -- why are we yet surprised in the window corner by a sudden vision that the young man in the chair is of all things in the world the most real, the most solid, the best known to us--why indeed? For the moment after we know nothing about him. Such is the manner of our seeing. 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