--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He did not know how wide a country, arid…" description: "\"“He did not know how wide a country, arid and precipitous, must be crossed before the traveller through life comes to an acceptance of reality. It is a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/w-somerset-maugham-237_life_he-did-not-know-how-wide-a-country-arid_1856982.jpg" --- # He did not know how wide a country, arid and precipitous… ![“He did not know how wide a country, arid and precipitous, must be crossed before the traveller through life comes to an acceptance of reality. It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched, for they are full of the truthless…” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/w-somerset-maugham-237_life_he-did-not-know-how-wide-a-country-arid_1856982.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/w-somerset-maugham-237_life_he-did-not-know-how-wide-a-country-arid_1856982.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/w-somerset-maugham-237_life_he-did-not-know-how-wide-a-country-arid_1856982.jpg) > ““He did not know how wide a country, arid and precipitous, must be crossed before the traveller through life comes to an acceptance of reality. It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched, for they are full of the truthless ideals which have been instilled into them, and each time they come in contact with the real they are bruised and wounded. It looks as if they were victims of a conspiracy; for the books they read, ideal by the necessity of selection, and the conversation of their elders, who look back upon the past through a rosy haze of forgetfulness, prepare them for an unreal life. They must discover for themselves that all they have read and all they have been told are lies, lies, lies; and each discovery is another nail driven into the body on the cross of life. The strange thing is that each one who has gone through that bitter disillusionment adds to it in his turn, unconsciously, by the power within him which is stronger than himself.”” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Youth confronts harsh reality, realizing that idealized beliefs are false; disillusionment is painful but essential for authentic self‑knowledge. **In simple terms:** Young people learn truth through painful disillusionment. Key Takeaway Accept reality, question inherited ideals. Themes disillusionment growth truth youth illusion Mood reflective somber inspirational Type literary philosophical psychological When to use this quote - Education - personal development - career choices - family expectations - cultural narratives Key Concepts Existentialism psychology coming of age Questions to Reflect On - What truths have you uncovered that changed your path? - How can disillusionment become a catalyst for growth? A Different Perspective Idealism can provide hope and motivation despite its falsehood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-is-an-illusion-that-youth-is-happy-an-illusion-of-those-who-have/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“It is an illusion that youth is happy: an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-is-an-illusion-that-youth-is-happy-an-illusion-of-those-who-have-5/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-is-an-illusion-that-youth-is-happy-an-illusion-of-those-who-have-4/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-an-illusion-that-youth-is-happy-an-illusion-of-those-who-have-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nuttall/it-is-an-illusion-that-youth-is-happy-an-illusion-of-those-who-have-3/) [Christopher Nuttall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nuttall/) > [“Sometimes you start focusing on the strings rather than the marionettes, and suddenly the entire illusion is lost for you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hartford/sometimes-you-start-focusing-on-the-strings-rather-than-the/) [Paul Hartford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hartford/) > [Lies lies lies and more lies. 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Please…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hidekaz-himaruya/ahhh-ahh-i-m-so-sorry-you-were-right-i-am-not-the-box-of-tomatoes/) [Hidekaz Himaruya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hidekaz-himaruya/) > [The acceptance of the reality that we are in the Lord's loving hands is only a recognition that we have never really been anywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/the-acceptance-of-the-reality-that-we-are-in-the-lord-s-loving-hands/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [“Satan wants you to believe that you don't have a choice in the matter. You can't be happy until things go the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-rietzsch/satan-wants-you-to-believe-that-you-don-t-have-a-choice-in-the-matter/) Lindsey Rietzsch > [Forgiveness ... is a willingness to get over what you think should have happened and an acceptance of the reality of what actually happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-britten/forgiveness-is-a-willingness-to-get-over-what-you-think-should-have/) [Rhonda Britten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-britten/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Illusion quotes > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Without illusions. I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [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/) > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Things aren't always as they appear. I've been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-dennen/things-aren-t-always-as-they-appear-i-ve-been-believing-things-to-be/) [Brett Dennen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-dennen/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Browse all 3,604 Illusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He did not know how wide a country, arid and precipitous, must be crossed before the traveller through life comes to an acceptance of reality. 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