--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our great thoughts, our great affections…" description: "\"Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_affection_our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections_24222.jpg" --- # Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of… ![“Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow it whithersoever that shall go, and are of their nature divine and immortal.” quote by William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_affection_our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections_24222.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_affection_our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections_24222.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_affection_our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections_24222.jpg) > “Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow it whithersoever that shall go, and are of their nature divine and immortal.” [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enduring ideas and emotions persist beyond physical existence, attached to consciousness and possessing a timeless, sacred quality. **In simple terms:** Ideas and feelings are immortal. Key Takeaway Thoughts and affections outlive the body. Themes immortality consciousness philosophy spirituality human nature Mood reverent thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - reflecting on personal legacy - grieving loss - seeking purpose - contemplating afterlife Key Concepts mind eternity divine memory Practical Applications - writing memoirs - creating art that captures enduring values Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your life feel timeless? - How do you nurture lasting ideas? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Affections Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affections-truths-406655/) [Can not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-not/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-shall-406656/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) [Great Affections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-affections-406657/) [Great Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-thoughts/) [Immortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortal/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation/) [Thoughts Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-great-406658/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [These are the living springs of great thoughts and great actions. Everything grows clear in the reflections from the Infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/these-are-the-living-springs-of-great-thoughts-and-great-actions/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Great thoughts, great feelings came to them, Like instincts, unawares.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-monckton-milnes-1st-baron-houghton/great-thoughts-great-feelings-came-to-them-like-instincts-unawares/) [Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-monckton-milnes-1st-baron-houghton/) > [“Dare to dwell on great thoughts, you will be great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/dare-to-dwell-on-great-thoughts-you-will-be-great/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [And I realize just how beautiful you are to me and how great you affections are for me~Jesus(:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-i-realize-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me-and-how-great-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be able to always have a super sense of who I was and my own real identity and be petty and seem informed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goldblum/to-be-able-to-always-have-a-super-sense-of-who-i-was-and-my-own-real/) [Jeff Goldblum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goldblum/) > [“The pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts: and the great art of life is to have as many of them as possible.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-moreira/the-pleasantest-things-in-the-world-are-pleasant-thoughts-and-the-2/) [Stellan Moreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-moreira/) > [The thoughts of great men are the common heritage of humanity and let our countrymen receive inspiration and guidance from these thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagat-puran-singh/the-thoughts-of-great-men-are-the-common-heritage-of-humanity-and-let/) [Bhagat Puran Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagat-puran-singh/) > [The pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts, and the great art of life is to have as many of them as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-pleasantest-things-in-the-world-are-pleasant-thoughts-and-the/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There's two elements to rap: having the thoughts, and then being a great rapper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/there-s-two-elements-to-rap-having-the-thoughts-and-then-being-a/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“The devil frequently fills our thoughts with great schemes, so that instead of putting our hands to what work we can do to serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santa-teresa-de-jes-s/the-devil-frequently-fills-our-thoughts-with-great-schemes-so-that/) [Santa Teresa de Jesús](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santa-teresa-de-jes-s/) > [I wish to devote all my time / To noble thoughts about great Love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadewijch/i-wish-to-devote-all-my-time-to-noble-thoughts-about-great-love/) [Hadewijch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadewijch/) > [“Every thought we think is like a brush stroke on the canvas of our lives. Let’s choose our thoughts, then, as a great artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/every-thought-we-think-is-like-a-brush-stroke-on-the-canvas-of-our/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [The mind is a powerful thing, when filled with positive thoughts only great things can happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/the-mind-is-a-powerful-thing-when-filled-with-positive-thoughts-only/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [“The great events in our lives are physical. Childbirth. Sex. Combat. Death. Not poetry, or music, or the thoughts of great men will flash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-mostert/the-great-events-in-our-lives-are-physical-childbirth-sex-combat/) [Natasha Mostert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-mostert/) > [“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-ll-have-a-good-secure-life-when-being-alive-means-more-to-you/) [Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/) ## More by William Makepeace Thackeray > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [It is best to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/it-is-best-to-love-wisely-no-doubt-but-to-love-foolishly-is-better/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Diffidence is a sort of false modesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/diffidence-is-a-sort-of-false-modesty/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Charming Alnaschar visions! it is the happy privilege of youth to construct you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/charming-alnaschar-visions-it-is-the-happy-privilege-of-youth-to/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [To see a young couple loving each other is no wonder; but to see an old couple loving each other is the best sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-see-a-young-couple-loving-each-other-is-no-wonder-but-to-see-an/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [An immense percentage of snobs, I believe, is to be found in every rank of this mortal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/an-immense-percentage-of-snobs-i-believe-is-to-be-found-in-every-rank/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Vanity is often the unseen spur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/vanity-is-often-the-unseen-spur/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [A good laugh is sunshine in the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/a-good-laugh-is-sunshine-in-the-house/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Novelty has charms that our minds can hardly withstand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/novelty-has-charms-that-our-minds-can-hardly-withstand/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“Picture to yourself, O fair young reader, a worldly, selfish, graceless, thankless, religionless old woman, writhing in pain and fear, and without her wig.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/picture-to-yourself-o-fair-young-reader-a-worldly-selfish-graceless/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Certain opuscules, denominated 'Christmas Books,' with the ostensible intention of swelling the tide of exhilaration, or other expansive emotions, incident upon the exodus of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/certain-opuscules-denominated-christmas-books-with-the-ostensible/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Cheerfulness means a contented spirit, a pure heart, a kind and loving disposition; it means humility and ~ charity, a generous appreciation of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/cheerfulness-means-a-contented-spirit-a-pure-heart-a-kind-and-loving/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Explore all 384 William Makepeace Thackeray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. 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