It is hard living down the tempers we are born with. We all begin well, for in our youth there is nothing we are more intolerant of than our own sins writ large in others and we fight them fiercely in ourselves; but we grow old and we see that these our sins are of all sins the really harmless ones to own, nay that they give a charm to any character, and so our struggle with them dies away.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Stein argues that character flaws seem charming in age, reducing the struggle to correct them.
- In plain terms
- Flaws we fought in youth become charming parts of our character later.
- What can you take from it?
- Accept that personal struggles often ease with time.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Which of your traits have changed in value over time?
- When did you stop fighting a flaw?
Another view
Some flaws remain harmful regardless of age.
More from Gertrude Stein
Repeating then is in every one, in every one their being and their feeling and their way of realizing everything and every one comes out of them in repeating. …
Permalink to quote #29 The creator of the new composition in the arts is an outlaw until he is a classic.
Permalink to quote #31 Disillusionment in living is finding that no one can really ever be agreeing with you completely in anything.
Permalink to quote #28
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People remain what they are even if their faces fall apart.
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Umberto EcoUmberto Eco quote #2 One does not get better but different and older and that is always a pleasure.
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