--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The past is our definition. We may strive…" description: "\"The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wendell-berry-236_definition_the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive_2750291.jpg" --- # The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason… ![“The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wendell-berry-236_definition_the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive_2750291.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wendell-berry-236_definition_the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive_2750291.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wendell-berry-236_definition_the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive_2750291.jpg) > “The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We define ourselves by the past; improvement comes by adding better to it. **In simple terms:** We grow by building on history. Key Takeaway Add value to the past. Themes history growth improvement Mood hopeful thoughtful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - community building - personal development - cultural preservation Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do we honor past while innovating? - What “better” can we contribute? A Different Perspective Past can also imprison us. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When all the routines and details and the human bores get on our nerves, we just yearn to go away from here to somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/when-all-the-routines-and-details-and-the-human-bores-get-on-our/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [“why people travel far from home-far from where they started. There was, of course, the obvious reason:escape. Escape from the monotony of every day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dave/why-people-travel-far-from-home-far-from-where-they-started-there-was/) [Laura Dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dave/) > [“To strive in life; we must either read or write a story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/to-strive-in-life-we-must-either-read-or-write-a-story/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I think my attitudes about the past are very traditional. You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-think-my-attitudes-about-the-past-are-very-traditional-you-can-t/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [A lot of the album 'The Definition' was made from two things: Pixar movies and J. Dilla.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bellion/a-lot-of-the-album-the-definition-was-made-from-two-things-pixar/) [Jon Bellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bellion/) > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Everyone has their own definition of a healthy lifestyle, and mine has come to mean making health a priority but not an obsession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-oz/everyone-has-their-own-definition-of-a-healthy-lifestyle-and-mine-has/) [Daphne Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-oz/) > [“The definition of a professional is one who does a job well even when they don't like it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sheinwald/the-definition-of-a-professional-is-one-who-does-a-job-well-even-when/) Alan Sheinwald > [ My definition \[of genius\] would be about being completely involved in your art form. So that's outside of sciences. Within the arts it's about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-crowe/my-definition-of-genius-would-be-about-being-completely-involved-in/) [Russell Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-crowe/) > [My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-law-montgomery/my-own-definition-of-leadership-is-this-the-capacity-and-the-will-to/) [Bernard Law Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-law-montgomery/) > [Biggest man law - be a man. Simple: be a man, definition of being a man is being a man. And don't let your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/biggest-man-law-be-a-man-simple-be-a-man-definition-of-being-a-man-is/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [By definition, when you make something no one hates, no one loves it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tibor-kalman/by-definition-when-you-make-something-no-one-hates-no-one-loves-it/) [Tibor Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tibor-kalman/) > [Everyone's definition of an open relationship is different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-malley/everyone-s-definition-of-an-open-relationship-is-different/) [Sean O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-malley/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Definition quotes > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“The definition of a professional is one who does a job well even when they don't like it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sheinwald/the-definition-of-a-professional-is-one-who-does-a-job-well-even-when/) Alan Sheinwald > [Biggest man law - be a man. Simple: be a man, definition of being a man is being a man. And don't let your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/biggest-man-law-be-a-man-simple-be-a-man-definition-of-being-a-man-is/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [A lot of the album 'The Definition' was made from two things: Pixar movies and J. Dilla.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bellion/a-lot-of-the-album-the-definition-was-made-from-two-things-pixar/) [Jon Bellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bellion/) > [By definition, when you make something no one hates, no one loves it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tibor-kalman/by-definition-when-you-make-something-no-one-hates-no-one-loves-it/) [Tibor Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tibor-kalman/) > [Everyone's definition of an open relationship is different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-o-malley/everyone-s-definition-of-an-open-relationship-is-different/) [Sean O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-o-malley/) > [My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-law-montgomery/my-own-definition-of-leadership-is-this-the-capacity-and-the-will-to/) [Bernard Law Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-law-montgomery/) > [ My definition \[of genius\] would be about being completely involved in your art form. So that's outside of sciences. Within the arts it's about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-crowe/my-definition-of-genius-would-be-about-being-completely-involved-in/) [Russell Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-crowe/) > [Everyone has their own definition of a healthy lifestyle, and mine has come to mean making health a priority but not an obsession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-oz/everyone-has-their-own-definition-of-a-healthy-lifestyle-and-mine-has/) [Daphne Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-oz/) > [Definition of a best friend; The person you cant be mad at for even an hour because you have something important to tell them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/definition-of-a-best-friend-the-person-you-cant-be-mad-at-for-even-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Somewhere down the line, the evil ones stole the legacy of hip hop and flipped it to a corporate type of hip hop. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/afrika-bambaataa/somewhere-down-the-line-the-evil-ones-stole-the-legacy-of-hip-hop-and/) [Afrika Bambaataa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/afrika-bambaataa/) > [Senseless violence is, almost by definition, hard to understand. Not that I can understand terrorists who kill from hate, but at least we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/senseless-violence-is-almost-by-definition-hard-to-understand-not/) [Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/) > [The definition of hate speech in some countries is problematic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/the-definition-of-hate-speech-in-some-countries-is-problematic/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [Our definition of the alt-right is younger people who are anti-globalists, very nationalist, terribly anti-establishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bannon/our-definition-of-the-alt-right-is-younger-people-who-are-anti/) [Steve Bannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bannon/) Browse all 524 Definition quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But we will escape it only by adding something better to it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive-with-good-reason-to-escape/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Definition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive-with-good-reason-to-escape/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wendell-berry-236_definition_the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive_2750291.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wendell-berry-236_definition_the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive_2750291.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21f/wendell-berry-236_definition_the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive_2750291.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The past is our definition. We may strive with good reason to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it. But…” — Wendell Berry", "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": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The past is our definition. We...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive-with-good-reason-to-escape/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-past-is-our-definition-we-may-strive-with-good-reason-to-escape/#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 } } ] } ```