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About this quote

What does it mean?
Vidal distinguishes between meeting many people and truly knowing them.
In plain terms
He met many people but did not form deep connections with them.
What can you take from it?
Quantity of acquaintances does not equal quality of relationships.

Where it applies

  • social gatherings
  • public life
  • personal reflection

Putting it to work

  • valuing depth
  • recognizing isolation
  • social critique

Questions to consider

  • What makes a relationship meaningful?
  • Is loneliness common in public life?

Another view

Being alone does not necessarily mean lacking connection.

More from Gore Vidal

  1. 'You got to meet everyone - Jackie Kennedy, William Burroughs.' People always put that sentence the wrong way around. I mean, why not put it the true way, that…

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  2. People in my situation get to read about themselves whether they want to or not. It's generally wrong. Or oversimplified - which is sometimes useful.

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  3. When she was running for the Senate, Hillary's psephologists discovered that the one group that really hated her was white, middle-aged men of property. She go…

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