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But Humanity, in its desire for comfort, had over-reached itself. It had exploited the riches of nature too far. Quietly and complacently, it was sinking into decadence, and progress had come to mean the progress of the Machine.

E. M. Forster

The four characteristics of humanism are curiosity, a free mind, belief in good taste, and belief in the human race.
E. M. FORSTER

Belief Characteristics Curiosity Food Good Human Humanism Mind Race Taste
My temple stands not upon Mount Moriah but in the Elysian Field where even the immoral are admitted. My motto is ‘Lord, I disbelieve – help thou my unbelief.
E. M. FORSTER

Admit Country Disbelieve Motto People Person Stand Temple Unbelief
We cast a shadow on something wherever we stand.
E. M. FORSTER

Cast Shadow Something Stand
It isn’t possible to love and to part.
E. M. FORSTER

Love Part Possible
The final test for a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, and of anything else which we cannot define.
E. M. FORSTER

Anything Define Effective Else Final Friend Novel Test Tet
Do not be proud of your inconsistency. It is a pity, it is a pity that we should be equipped like this. It is a pity that Man cannot be at the same time impressive and truthful.
E. M. FORSTER

Equipped Impressive Inconsistency Pity Proud Same
The main facts in human life are five: birth, food, sleep, love and death.
E. M. FORSTER

Death Fact Fivem Birth Food Human Life Main Sleep
It is so difficult – at least, I find it difficult – to understand people who speak the truth.
E. M. FORSTER

Choose Difficult Insult Ladylike Least Myself Right
Creative writers are always greater than the causes that they represent.
E. M. FORSTER

Always Cause Creative Greater Represent Writer
We cast a shadow on something wherever we stand, and it is no good moving from place to place to save things; because the shadow always follows. Choose a place where you won’t do harm – yes, choose a place where you won’t do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine.
E. M. FORSTER

Cast Follow Good Move Place Save Shadow Something Stand Thing
School was the unhappiest time of my life and the worst trick it ever played on me was to pretend that it was the world in miniature. For it hindered me from discovering how lovely and delightful and kind the world can be, and how much of it is intelligible.
E. M. FORSTER

Life Miniature Play Pretend School Time Trick Unhappiest World Worst
What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?
E. M. FORSTER

Daily Enter Good Live Star Sunrise Tree Wind
One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life.
E. M. FORSTER

Fond Life Make Mess Must One People Trust
So I shan’t ever marry, for there aren’t such men. And Heaven help any one whom I do marry, for I shall certainly run away from him before you can say ‘Jack Robinson.
E. M. FORSTER

Away Certainty Country Men People Person Run Shall
You confuse what’s important with what’s impressive.
E. M. FORSTER

Confuse Important Impressive
It isn’t possible to love and part. You will wish that it was. You can transmute love, ignore it, muddle it, but you can never pull it out of you. I know by experience that the poets are right: love is eternal.
E. M. FORSTER

Art Ignore Love Muddle never Oull Out Possible Transmute
At night, when the curtains are drawn and the fire flickers, my books attain a collective dignity.
E. M. FORSTER

Attain Book Collective Curtain Dignity Drawn Ficker Fire Night
When I think of what life is, and how seldom love is answered by love; it is one of the moments for which the world was made.
E. M. FORSTER

Answer Life Love Made Moment Seldom Think Which World
I have no mystic faith in the people. I have in the individual.
E. M. FORSTER

Faith Individual Mystic People
If we act the truth the people who really love us are sure to come back to us in the long run
E. M. FORSTER

Act Back Long Love People Really Run Some Sure Truth
One always tends to overpraise a long book, because one has got through it.
E. M. FORSTER

Always Book Got Long One Overpraise Tend Though
I believe in teaching people to be individuals, and to understand other individuals.
E. M. FORSTER

Believe Individual People Teach Understand
But it struck him that people are not really dead until they are felt to be dead. As long as there is some misunderstanding about them, they possess a sort of immortality.
E. M. FORSTER

Dead Fel Long Misunderstanding Possess Really Some Sort Stuck
It’s not what people do to you, but what they mean, that hurts.
E. M. FORSTER

Hurt Mean People
Give, do not lend; after death who will thank you?
E. M. FORSTER

After Death Give Tend Thank You
One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
E. M. FORSTER

Better Interest Our People Prsonmapssion
There are moments when the inner life actually ‘pays,’ when years of self-scrutiny, conducted for no ulterior motive, are suddenly of practical use.
E. M. FORSTER

Actual Conduct Inner Life Moment Motive Pay Scrutiny Self Suddenly Use Year

But Humanity, in its desire for comfort, had over-reached itself. It had exploited the riches of nature too far. Quietly and complacently, it was sinking into decadence, and progress had come to mean the progress of the Machine.

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Popular Authors

But Humanity, in its desire for comfort, had over-reached itself. It had exploited the riches of nature too far. Quietly and complacently, it was sinking into decadence, and progress had come to mean the progress of the Machine.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More E. M. Forster Quotes