--- title: "'They were so beautiful,' she said, 'so young, so confident in what w… — James Branch Cabell Quote #42 | QuotesBy.net" description: "'They were so beautiful,' she said, 'so young, so confident in what was to be, and so pitiable! And now some of them are gone away into the far-off p… — a quote by James Branch Cabell." image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png" --- > # 'They were so beautiful,' she said, 'so young, so confident in what was to be, and so pitiable! And now some of them are gone away into the far-off parts of the earth, and some of them are gone down under the earth in their black narrow coffins, and the husks of those that remain hereabouts are strange and staid and withered and do not matter any longer. Life is a pageant that passes very quickly, going hastily from one darkness to another darkness with only ignes fatui to guide; and there is no sense in it. I learned that, Kerin, without moiling over books. But life is a fine ardent spectacle; and I have loved the actors in it: and I have loved their youth and high-heartedness, and their ungrounded faiths, and their queer dreams, my Kerin, about their own importance and about the greatness of the destiny that awaited them, - while you were piddling after, of all things, the truth!' [James Branch Cabell](https://quotesby.net/James-Branch-Cabell)\#42[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9C%27They%20were%20so%20beautiful%2C%27%20she%20said%2C%20%27so%20young%2C%20so%20confident%20in%20what%20was%20to%20be%2C%20and%20so%20pitiable%21%20And%20now%20some%20of%20them%20are%20gone%20away%20into%20the%20far-off%20parts%20of%20the%20earth%2C%20and%20some%20of%20them%20are%20gone%20down%20under%20the%20earth%20in%20their%20black%20narrow%20coffins%2C%20and%20the%20husks%20of%20those%20that%20remain%20hereabouts%20are%20strange%20and%20staid%20and%20withered%20and%20do%20not%20matter%20any%20longer.%20Life%20is%20a%20pageant%20that%20passes%20very%20quickly%2C%20going%20hastily%20from%20one%20darkness%20to%20another%20darkness%20with%20only%20ignes%20fatui%20to%20guide%3B%20and%20there%20is%20no%20sense%20in%20it.%20I%20learned%20that%2C%20Kerin%2C%20without%20moiling%20over%20books.%20But%20life%20is%20a%20fine%20ardent%20spectacle%3B%20and%20I%20have%20loved%20the%20actors%20in%20it%3A%20and%20I%20have%20loved%20their%20youth%20and%20high-heartedness%2C%20and%20their%20ungrounded%20faiths%2C%20and%20their%20queer%20dreams%2C%20my%20Kerin%2C%20about%20their%20own%20importance%20and%20about%20the%20greatness%20of%20the%20destiny%20that%20awaited%20them%2C%20-%20while%20you%20were%20piddling%20after%2C%20of%20all%20things%2C%20the%20truth%21%27%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20James%20Branch%20Cabell%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJames-Branch-Cabell%2F42%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9C%27They%20were%20so%20beautiful%2C%27%20she%20said%2C%20%27so%20young%2C%20so%20confident%20in%20what%20was%20to%20be%2C%20and%20so%20pitiable%21%20And%20now%20some%20of%20them%20are%20gone%20away%20into%20the%20far-off%20parts%20of%20the%20earth%2C%20and%20some%20of%20them%20are%20gone%20down%20under%20the%20earth%20in%20their%20black%20narrow%20coffins%2C%20and%20the%20husks%20of%20those%20that%20remain%20hereabouts%20are%20strange%20and%20staid%20and%20withered%20and%20do%20not%20matter%20any%20longer.%20Life%20is%20a%20pageant%20that%20passes%20very%20quickly%2C%20going%20hastily%20from%20one%20darkness%20to%20another%20darkness%20with%20only%20ignes%20fatui%20to%20guide%3B%20and%20there%20is%20no%20sense%20in%20it.%20I%20learned%20that%2C%20Kerin%2C%20without%20moiling%20over%20books.%20But%20life%20is%20a%20fine%20ardent%20spectacle%3B%20and%20I%20have%20loved%20the%20actors%20in%20it%3A%20and%20I%20have%20loved%20their%20youth%20and%20high-heartedness%2C%20and%20their%20ungrounded%20faiths%2C%20and%20their%20queer%20dreams%2C%20my%20Kerin%2C%20about%20their%20own%20importance%20and%20about%20the%20greatness%20of%20the%20destiny%20that%20awaited%20them%2C%20-%20while%20you%20were%20piddling%20after%2C%20of%20all%20things%2C%20the%20truth%21%27%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20James%20Branch%20Cabell&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJames-Branch-Cabell%2F42%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJames-Branch-Cabell%2F42%2F) ## More from James Branch Cabell 1. > The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true. [Permalink to quote \#41](https://quotesby.net/James-Branch-Cabell/41/ "Permalink to quote 41") 2. > There is an outcry against epoch-making masterpieces of philosophy like Jurgen. The salacious musical comedy goes its libidinous way rejoicing, while Ibsen and… [Permalink to quote \#43](https://quotesby.net/James-Branch-Cabell/43/ "Permalink to quote 43") 3. > In Philistia to make literature and to make trouble for yourself are synonyms,: the tumblebug explained. - I know, for already we of Philistia have been pester… [Permalink to quote \#40](https://quotesby.net/James-Branch-Cabell/40/ "Permalink to quote 40") ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'They were so beautiful,' she said, 'so young, so confident in what was to be, and so pitiable! And now some of them are gone away into the far-off parts of the earth, and some of them are gone down under the earth in their black narrow coffins, and the husks of those that remain hereabouts are strange and staid and withered and do not matter any longer. Life is a pageant that passes very quickly, going hastily from one darkness to another darkness with only ignes fatui to guide; and there is no sense in it. I learned that, Kerin, without moiling over books. But life is a fine ardent spectacle; and I have loved the actors in it: and I have loved their youth and high-heartedness, and their ungrounded faiths, and their queer dreams, my Kerin, about their own importance and about the greatness of the destiny that awaited them, - while you were piddling after, of all things, the truth!'", "url": "https://quotesby.net/James-Branch-Cabell/42/", "spokenByCharacter": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Branch Cabell" } } { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://quotesby.net/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Authors", "item": "https://quotesby.net/authors/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Branch Cabell", "item": "https://quotesby.net/James-Branch-Cabell" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Quote #42", "item": "https://quotesby.net/James-Branch-Cabell/42/" } ] } ```