---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a gravity which is not austere…"
description: "\"There is a gravity which is not austere nor captious, which belongs not to melancholy nor dwells in contraction of heart: but arises from tenderness an..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/walter-savage-landor-1404_arise_there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere_1291985.png"
---

#  There is a gravity which is not austere nor captious…

![“There is a gravity which is not austere nor captious, which belongs not to melancholy nor dwells in contraction of heart: but arises from tenderness and hangs upon reflection.” quote by Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/walter-savage-landor-1404_arise_there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere_1291985.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/walter-savage-landor-1404_arise_there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere_1291985.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/walter-savage-landor-1404_arise_there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere_1291985.png)

> “There is a gravity which is not austere nor captious, which belongs not to melancholy nor dwells in contraction of heart: but arises from tenderness and hangs upon reflection.”

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

## About This Quote

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

A gentle gravity arises from tenderness and contemplation, not from harshness or sadness.

**In simple terms:** Tenderness creates a gentle pull toward reflection.

Key Takeaway

Embrace tender reflection.

Themes

tenderness reflection gravity emotion

Mood

contemplative soft thoughtful

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- meditation
- art appreciation
- personal growth
- grief processing

Key Concepts

philosophy poetry human experience

Questions to Reflect On

- What does tenderness reveal about you?
- How can reflection deepen empathy?

A Different Perspective

May be mistaken for melancholy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/) [Arises Tenderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arises-tenderness-4211739/) [Contractions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contractions/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Gravity Austere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity-austere-4211740/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Melancholy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melancholy/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Tenderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenderness/) [Tenderness Hangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenderness-hangs-4211738/)

## Related quotes

> [The Huffington Post Investigative Fund's goal is to produce a broad range of investigative journalism created by both staff reporters and freelance writers, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/the-huffington-post-investigative-fund-s-goal-is-to-produce-a-broad/)

[Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/)

> [Aging people should know that their lives are not mounting and unfolding but that an inexorable inner process forces the contraction of life. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/aging-people-should-know-that-their-lives-are-not-mounting-and/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [Clearly, sustained low inflation implies less uncertainty about the future, and lower risk premiums imply higher prices of stocks and other earning assets. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/clearly-sustained-low-inflation-implies-less-uncertainty-about-the/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [Compounds of gaseous substances with each other are always formed in very simple ratios, so that representing one of the terms by unity, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-louis-gay-lussac/compounds-of-gaseous-substances-with-each-other-are-always-formed-in/)

[Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-louis-gay-lussac/)

> [Learning to inhibit unwanted contractions of muscles that function without, or in spite of, our will, is the main task in coordinated action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-feldenkrais/learning-to-inhibit-unwanted-contractions-of-muscles-that-function/)

[Moshe Feldenkrais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-feldenkrais/)

> [Great art grabs you, against your will, and then suspends your will. You are ushered into a quiet clearing, free of desire, free of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/great-art-grabs-you-against-your-will-and-then-suspends-your-will-you/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [“Contractions. Kane’s stomach dropped right out of his body. He stared down at her, his mind going fuzzy. That was one of those words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/contractions-kane-s-stomach-dropped-right-out-of-his-body-he-stared/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

> [I think we'll see a leveling off and then a contraction of population, not a continued upward trend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/i-think-we-ll-see-a-leveling-off-and-then-a-contraction-of-population/)

[James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/)

> [The stock market crashed in October 1929. But that was not the cause of what caused the Great Depression. It was, in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-stock-market-crashed-in-october-1929-but-that-was-not-the-cause/)

[Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/)

> [All living organisms are but leaves on the same tree of life. The various functions of plants and animals and their specialized organs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/all-living-organisms-are-but-leaves-on-the-same-tree-of-life-the/)

[Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/)

> [Financial institutions are not being bailed out as a favor to them or their stockholders. In fact, stockholders have come out worse off after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/financial-institutions-are-not-being-bailed-out-as-a-favor-to-them-or/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [I observed certain animalcules, within whole bodies I saw so quick a motion as to exceed belief; they were about the size of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonie-van-leeuwenhoek/i-observed-certain-animalcules-within-whole-bodies-i-saw-so-quick-a/)

[Antonie van Leeuwenhoek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonie-van-leeuwenhoek/)

> [What we face is a comprehensive contraction of our activities, due to declining fossil fuel resources and other growing scarcities. Our failure is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/what-we-face-is-a-comprehensive-contraction-of-our-activities-due-to/)

[James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/)

> [Real change doesn't come without crisis. Childbirth doesn't come without crisis. I think that's happening with humanity now. Our growth has generated multiple crises...and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/real-change-doesn-t-come-without-crisis-childbirth-doesn-t-come/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [I felt very maternal around eight months. And I thought I couldn't become any more until I saw the baby... But it happened during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-felt-very-maternal-around-eight-months-and-i-thought-i-couldn-t/)

[Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/)

## More by Walter Savage Landor

> [Nations, like individuals, interest us in their growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/nations-like-individuals-interest-us-in-their-growth/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [Ah what avails the sceptred race, Ah what the form divine! What every virtue, every grace! Rose Aylmer, all were thine. Rose Aylmer, whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/ah-what-avails-the-sceptred-race-ah-what-the-form-divine-what-every/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [A solitude is the audience-chamber of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/a-solitude-is-the-audience-chamber-of-god/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [No ashes are lighter than those of incense, and few things burn out sooner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/no-ashes-are-lighter-than-those-of-incense-and-few-things-burn-out/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [As there are some flowers which you should smell but slightly to extract all that is pleasant in them ... so there are some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/as-there-are-some-flowers-which-you-should-smell-but-slightly-to/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [We talk on principle, but we act on interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/we-talk-on-principle-but-we-act-on-interest/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [States, like men, have their growth, their manhood, their decrepitude, their decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/states-like-men-have-their-growth-their-manhood-their-decrepitude/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [The only effect of public punishment is to show the rabble how bravely it can be borne; and that every one who hath lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/the-only-effect-of-public-punishment-is-to-show-the-rabble-how/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [Every great writer is a writer of history, let him treat on almost what subject he may.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/every-great-writer-is-a-writer-of-history-let-him-treat-on-almost/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [I strove with none; for none was worth my strife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/i-strove-with-none-for-none-was-worth-my-strife/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [The habit of pleasing by flattery makes a language soft; the fear of offending by truth makes it circuitous and conventional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/the-habit-of-pleasing-by-flattery-makes-a-language-soft-the-fear-of/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [There is no eloquence which does not agitate the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/there-is-no-eloquence-which-does-not-agitate-the-soul/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [We care not how many see us in choler, when we rave and bluster, and make as much noise and bustle as we can;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/we-care-not-how-many-see-us-in-choler-when-we-rave-and-bluster-and/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [Whatever is worthy to be loved for anything is worthy of preservation. A wise and dispassionate legislator, if any such should ever arise among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/whatever-is-worthy-to-be-loved-for-anything-is-worthy-of-preservation/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

> [The present, like a note in music, is nothing but as it appertains to what is past and what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/the-present-like-a-note-in-music-is-nothing-but-as-it-appertains-to/)

[Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

[Explore all 245 Walter Savage Landor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/)

## More Arise quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/)

[Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/)

> [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/)

[John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/)

> [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/)

[Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/)

> [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/)

[Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/)

> [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/)

[Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/)

> [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/)

[Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/)

> [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/)

[Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/)

> [When you train your thoughts to dissolve as they arise, they will cross your mind like a bird crosses the sky--without leaving a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julietta-suzuki/when-you-train-your-thoughts-to-dissolve-as-they-arise-they-will/)

[Julietta Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julietta-suzuki/)

> [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/)

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

> [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

[Browse all 1,703 Arise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There is a gravity which is not austere nor captious, which belongs not to melancholy nor dwells in contraction of heart: but arises from tenderness and hangs upon reflection.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Walter Savage Landor"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere-nor-captious-which-belongs/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Arise"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere-nor-captious-which-belongs/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/walter-savage-landor-1404_arise_there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere_1291985.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/walter-savage-landor-1404_arise_there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere_1291985.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c98/walter-savage-landor-1404_arise_there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere_1291985.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is a gravity which is not austere nor captious, which belongs not to melancholy nor dwells in…” — Walter Savage Landor",
                "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": "Walter Savage Landor",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There is a gravity which is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere-nor-captious-which-belongs/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/there-is-a-gravity-which-is-not-austere-nor-captious-which-belongs/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
