---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had fallen into a profound dream-like…"
description: "\"“I had fallen into a profound dream-like reverie in which I heard him speaking as at a distance. 'And yet there is no one who communes with only one go..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/w-b-yeats-8179_creativity_i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like_159908.jpg"
---

#  I had fallen into a profound dream-like reverie in which I…

![“I had fallen into a profound dream-like reverie in which I heard him speaking as at a distance. 'And yet there is no one who communes with only one god,' he was saying, 'and the more a man lives in imagination and in a refined understanding, the more gods does he meet with and talk with, and the…” quote by W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/w-b-yeats-8179_creativity_i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like_159908.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/w-b-yeats-8179_creativity_i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like_159908.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/w-b-yeats-8179_creativity_i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like_159908.jpg)

> ““I had fallen into a profound dream-like reverie in which I heard him speaking as at a distance. 'And yet there is no one who communes with only one god,' he was saying, 'and the more a man lives in imagination and in a refined understanding, the more gods does he meet with and talk with, and the more does he come under the power of Roland, who sounded in the Valley of Roncesvalles the last trumpet of the body's will and pleasure; and of Hamlet, who saw them perishing away, and sighed; and of Faust, who looked for them up and down the world and could not find them; and under the power of all those countless divinities who have taken upon themselves spiritual bodies in the minds of the modern poets and romance writers, and under the power of the old divinities, who since the Renaissance have won everything of their ancient worship except the sacrifice of birds and fishes, the fragrance of garlands and the smoke of incense. The many think humanity made these divinities, and that it can unmake them again; but we who have seen them pass in rattling harness, and in soft robes, and heard them speak with articulate voices while we lay in deathlike trance, know that they are always making and unmaking humanity, which is indeed but the trembling of their lips.””

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage describes how imagination and deep understanding expose us to many divine influences, shaping humanity through artistic and spiritual forces.

**In simple terms:** Imagination opens us to many divine influences that shape humanity.

Key Takeaway

Embrace imagination to connect with deeper forces.

Themes

imagination spirituality art human nature divine influence

Mood

reflective enigmatic inquisitive

Type

philosophical literary spiritual

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- philosophical reflection
- artistic inspiration
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

myth philosophy poetry transcendence

Questions to Reflect On

- How does imagination alter your perception of reality?
- What role do mythic figures play in modern creativity?

A Different Perspective

Interpretations may vary; not all readers see literal divinities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communes God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communes-god-1756563/) [Countless Divinities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/countless-divinities-1756565/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods/) [Humanity Divinities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-divinities-1756566/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Pagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pagan/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Profound Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profound-dream-1135157/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sighed Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sighed-faust-1756564/)

## Related quotes

> [The Indians in the Southwestern United States went to many places of power. They were able to have profound dream experiences where they could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-indians-in-the-southwestern-united-states-went-to-many-places-of/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“If I could understand everything the way I do now, I could make it all--and then it just stopped. Leaving me with that feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-parker/if-i-could-understand-everything-the-way-i-do-now-i-could-make-it-all/)

[Jeff Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-parker/)

> [“The portraits, of more historical than artistic interest, had gone; and tapestry, full of the blue and bronze of peacocks, fell over the doors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/the-portraits-of-more-historical-than-artistic-interest-had-gone-and/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“If we turn now to such vestiges of cult as are associated otherwise than with time and season, we discover a definite recognition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-spence/if-we-turn-now-to-such-vestiges-of-cult-as-are-associated-otherwise/)

[Lewis Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-spence/)

> [The more I got to knew about Paganism the more Pagan I became, so to say, but I didn't really know enough until after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varg-vikernes/the-more-i-got-to-knew-about-paganism-the-more-pagan-i-became-so-to/)

[Varg Vikernes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varg-vikernes/)

> [A soil, exhausted by the long culture of Pagan empires, was to lie fallow for a still longer period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lothrop-motley/a-soil-exhausted-by-the-long-culture-of-pagan-empires-was-to-lie/)

[John Lothrop Motley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lothrop-motley/)

> [The Supernatural is only the Natural disclosed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-supernatural-is-only-the-natural-disclosed/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [To appeal to contemporary man to revert, in this twentieth century, to a pagan-like nature worship in order to restrain technology from further encroachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lamm/to-appeal-to-contemporary-man-to-revert-in-this-twentieth-century-to/)

[Norman Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lamm/)

> [Gay men are guardians of the masculine impulse. To have anonymous sex in a dark alleyway is to pay homage to the dream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/gay-men-are-guardians-of-the-masculine-impulse-to-have-anonymous-sex/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [He wasn't completely wrong, poor old Gemistus (let Lord Andronicus and the patriarch suspect him if they like), in wanting us, telling us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-cavafy/he-wasn-t-completely-wrong-poor-old-gemistus-let-lord-andronicus-and/)

[C.P. Cavafy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-cavafy/)

> [“The concepts of mercy and humility were not just unappreciated in pagan culture, they were ridiculed by men of the highest learning. The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-carroll/the-concepts-of-mercy-and-humility-were-not-just-unappreciated-in/)

[Vincent Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-carroll/)

> [I have a sense of them being Easter religions, for some reason. Christianity, of course, is a mystery religion, too, and I believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-s-crisp/i-have-a-sense-of-them-being-easter-religions-for-some-reason/)

[Quentin S. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-s-crisp/)

> [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/)

[Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/)

> [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/)

[Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/)

> [Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said. "Christmas and Hanukah are completely different things." "But different things can often blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/santa-claus-has-nothing-to-do-with-it-the-latke-said-christmas-and/)

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

## More by W.B. Yeats

> [“The host is rushing 'twixt day and night, And where is there hope or deed as fair? Caoilte tossing his burning hair, And Niamh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/the-host-is-rushing-twixt-day-and-night-and-where-is-there-hope-or/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“Oh, who could have foretold That the heart grows old?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/oh-who-could-have-foretold-that-the-heart-grows-old/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“For the good are always the merry, Save by an evil chance, And the merry love the fiddle, And the merry love to dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/for-the-good-are-always-the-merry-save-by-an-evil-chance-and-the/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“I spit upon the dancers painted by Degas. I spit upon their short bodies, their stiff stays, their toes whereupon they spin like peg-tops,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/i-spit-upon-the-dancers-painted-by-degas-i-spit-upon-their-short/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“Be you still, be you still, trembling heart; Remember the wisdom out of the old days: \*Him who trembles before the flame and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/be-you-still-be-you-still-trembling-heart-remember-the-wisdom-out-of/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“The Nineteenth Century And After Though the great song return no more There's keen delight in what we have: The rattle of pebbles on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/the-nineteenth-century-and-after-though-the-great-song-return-no-more/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“What is literature but the expression of moods by the vehicle of symbol and incident? And are there not moods which need heaven, hell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/what-is-literature-but-the-expression-of-moods-by-the-vehicle-of/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“Its quarrel is not with the past, but with the present, where its elders are so obviously powerful, and no cause seems lost if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/its-quarrel-is-not-with-the-past-but-with-the-present-where-its/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“On November Eve they are at their gloomiest, for according to the old Gaelic reckoning, this is the first night of winter. This night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/on-november-eve-they-are-at-their-gloomiest-for-according-to-the-old/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“... Those masterful images because complete Grew in pure mind, but out of what began? A mound of refuse or the sweepings of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/those-masterful-images-because-complete-grew-in-pure-mind-but-out-of/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“The portraits, of more historical than artistic interest, had gone; and tapestry, full of the blue and bronze of peacocks, fell over the doors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/the-portraits-of-more-historical-than-artistic-interest-had-gone-and/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“it's a long lane that has no turning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/it-s-a-long-lane-that-has-no-turning/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“In tombs of gold and lapis lazuli Bodies of holy men and women exude Miraculous oil, odour of violet. But under heavy loads of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/in-tombs-of-gold-and-lapis-lazuli-bodies-of-holy-men-and-women-exude/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“A man awaits his end Dreading and hoping all; Many times he died, Many times rose again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/a-man-awaits-his-end-dreading-and-hoping-all-many-times-he-died-many/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [“And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/and-i-shall-have-some-peace-there-for-peace-comes-dropping-slow/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

[Explore all 83 W.B. Yeats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

## More Creativity quotes

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/)

[Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/)

> [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/)

[John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/)

> [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/)

[Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

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

> [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/)

[M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/)

> [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/)

[Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/)

> [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/)

[Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/)

> [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/)

[Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/)

> [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/)

[Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/)

> [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/)

[David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/)

> [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/)

[Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/)

> [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/)

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

[Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I had fallen into a profound dream-like reverie in which I heard him speaking as at a distance. 'And yet there is no one who communes with only one god,' he was saying, 'and the more a man lives in imagination and in a refined understanding, the more gods does he meet with and talk with, and the more does he come under the power of Roland, who sounded in the Valley of Roncesvalles the last trumpet of the body's will and pleasure; and of Hamlet, who saw them perishing away, and sighed; and of Faust, who looked for them up and down the world and could not find them; and under the power of all those countless divinities who have taken upon themselves spiritual bodies in the minds of the modern poets and romance writers, and under the power of the old divinities, who since the Renaissance have won everything of their ancient worship except the sacrifice of birds and fishes, the fragrance of garlands and the smoke of incense. The many think humanity made these divinities, and that it can unmake them again; but we who have seen them pass in rattling harness, and in soft robes, and heard them speak with articulate voices while we lay in deathlike trance, know that they are always making and unmaking humanity, which is indeed but the trembling of their lips.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "W.B. Yeats"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like-reverie-in-which-i-heard-him/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Creativity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like-reverie-in-which-i-heard-him/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/w-b-yeats-8179_creativity_i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like_159908.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/w-b-yeats-8179_creativity_i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like_159908.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/w-b-yeats-8179_creativity_i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like_159908.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I had fallen into a profound dream-like reverie in which I heard him speaking as at a distance. 'And yet…” — W.B. Yeats",
                "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": "W.B. Yeats",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I had fallen into a profound...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like-reverie-in-which-i-heard-him/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/i-had-fallen-into-a-profound-dream-like-reverie-in-which-i-heard-him/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
