Absalom Quote by William Faulkner
““-that unsleeping care which must have known that it could permit itself but one mistake; that alertness for measuring and weighing event against eventuality, circumstance against human nature, his own fallible judgement and mortal clay against not only human but natural forces, choosing and discarding, compromising with his dream and his ambition like you must with the horse which you take across country, over timber, which you control only through your ability to keep the animal from realizing that actually you cannot, that actually it is the stronger.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Light in August, 1932
The passage describes a relentless inner vigilance that tries to balance ambition with reality, acknowledging human fallibility and the uncontrollable forces that shape decisions.
In simple terms: Constant self‑scrutiny versus ambition.
Key Takeaway
Recognize limits, adjust expectations.
Themes
self‑awareness
ambition
human frailty
control
responsibility
Mood
reflective
serious
introspective
Type
literary
philosophical
cautionary
When to use this quote
- leadership
- creative projects
- personal decision‑making
- risk assessment
Key Concepts
existentialism
psychology
ethical dilemma
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance personal ambition with realistic constraints?
- When does vigilance become paralysis?
A Different Perspective
Human judgment is always imperfect against external forces can dominate.
![“A sort of animals, to whose share, [...] some small pittance of reason had fallen, whereof we made no other use, than to aggravate our natural corruptions, and to acquire new ones, which nature had not given us; that we disarmed ourselves of the few abilities she had bestowed; hand been very…” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3ad/jonathan-swift-433_animals_a-sort-of-animals-to-whose-share-some-sm_912605.jpg)
