There isn't a bourgeois alive who in the ferment of his youth, if only for a day or for a minute, hasn't thought himself capable of boundless passions and noble exploits. The sorriest little woman-chaser has dreamed of Oriental queens; in a corner of every notary's heart lie the moldy remains of a poet.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Most people dream of grand passions or heroism in their youth, even if they never act on it.
- In plain terms
- Everyone imagines living an extraordinary life when young.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize the gap between youthful dreams and adult reality.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What grand dream did you abandon?
- Does this dream still live inside you?
Another view
Some dreams remain unfulfilled due to circumstance.
More from Gustave Flaubert
No matter: she wasn't happy, and never had been. Why was life so unsatisfactory? Why did everything she leaned on crumble instantly to dust? . . . Besides, not…
Permalink to quote #80 Adultery, Emma was discovering, could be as banal as marriage.
Permalink to quote #82 She looked at him sadly. 'Whatever it was,' she said, 'I suffered a great deal.' He answered philosophically: 'Existence is thus!'
Permalink to quote #83
Related quotes
'Take what you can from your dreams, make them as real as anything.'
Dave MatthewsDave Matthews quote #11 Keep true to the dreams of thy youth.
Friedrich von SchillerFriedrich von Schiller quote #118 'Fools!' said the man, stamping his foot with rage. 'That is the sort of talk that brought me here, and I'd better have been drowned or never born. Do you hear…
C. S. LewisC. S. Lewis quote #147