--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To Lucy it was an admirable study, the…" description: "\"“To Lucy it was an admirable study, the contrast between the man who threw his whole soul into a certain aim, which he pursued with a savage intensity,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/w-somerset-maugham-237_death_to-lucy-it-was-an-admirable-study-the-co_620067.jpg" --- # To Lucy it was an admirable study, the contrast between… ![“To Lucy it was an admirable study, the contrast between the man who threw his whole soul into a certain aim, which he pursued with a savage intensity, knowing that the end was a dreadful, lonely death; and the man who was making up his mind deliberately to gather what was beautiful in life, and to…” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/w-somerset-maugham-237_death_to-lucy-it-was-an-admirable-study-the-co_620067.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/w-somerset-maugham-237_death_to-lucy-it-was-an-admirable-study-the-co_620067.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/w-somerset-maugham-237_death_to-lucy-it-was-an-admirable-study-the-co_620067.jpg) > ““To Lucy it was an admirable study, the contrast between the man who threw his whole soul into a certain aim, which he pursued with a savage intensity, knowing that the end was a dreadful, lonely death; and the man who was making up his mind deliberately to gather what was beautiful in life, and to cultivate its graces as though it were a flower garden. “And the worst of it is that it will all be the same in a hundred years,” said Dick. “We shall both be forgotten long before then, you with your strenuousness, and I with my folly.” “And what conclusion do you draw from that?” asked Mrs. Crowley. “Only that the psychological moment has arrived for a whisky and soda.”” [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. A contrast is drawn between obsessive ambition leading to a lonely death and a gentle appreciation of life's beauty, both ultimately forgotten. **In simple terms:** Obsessive drive vs gentle living, both fleeting. Key Takeaway Choose balance over extremes. Themes ambition beauty mortality legacy Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical contemplative When to use this quote - career pursuits - artistic creation - personal relationships - life planning Key Concepts Existentialism humanism impermanence Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize intensity or tranquility? - How does awareness of impermanence affect your choices? A Different Perspective The quote romanticizes fatalism, ignoring agency to shape meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admirable Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admirable-study-5018607/) [Crowley Psychological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowley-psychological-5018606/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Flower garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower-garden/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lucy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucy/) [Lucy Admirable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucy-admirable-5018608/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Said Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-dick-1141460/) ## Related quotes > [“Suddenly she came towards him, her youth vanishing as she passed inside the focus of his eyes and he had kissed her breathlessly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-3/suddenly-she-came-towards-him-her-youth-vanishing-as-she-passed/) [F.Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-3/) > [“Go didn't like grilled cheese; she was scooping peanut butter out of the jar onto saltines. 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Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [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/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. 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You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To Lucy it was an admirable study, the contrast between the man who threw his whole soul into a certain aim, which he pursued with a savage intensity, knowing that the end was a dreadful, lonely death; and the man who was making up his mind deliberately to gather what was beautiful in life, and to cultivate its graces as though it were a flower garden. “And the worst of it is that it will all be the same in a hundred years,” said Dick. “We shall both be forgotten long before then, you with your strenuousness, and I with my folly.” “And what conclusion do you draw from that?” asked Mrs. Crowley. “Only that the psychological moment has arrived for a whisky and soda.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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