I am the very slave of circumstance And impulse,-borne away with every breath!
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker feels driven by circumstance and impulse, losing control with each breath.
- In plain terms
- I am ruled by situation and urge, swept away constantly.
- What can you take from it?
- Awareness of external and internal forces can restore agency.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much of your actions are truly your own?
Another view
It may overstate loss of personal responsibility.
More from Lord Byron
By all that 's good and glorious.
Permalink to quote #113 The dust we tread upon was once alive.
Permalink to quote #115 Which makes life itself a lie, Flattering dust with eternity.
Permalink to quote #112
Related quotes
'Life consists not simply in what heredity and environment do to us but in what we make out of what they do to us.'
Harry Emerson FosdickHarry Emerson Fosdick quote #18 We suffer primarily not from our vices or our weaknesses, but from our illusions.
Daniel J. BoorstinDaniel J. Boorstin quote #1 Everything's different. You have to recognise the fact that I'm different. Time goes on, and you change. I'm coming into this as a different guy, that's probab…
Chris CornellChris Cornell quote #1