Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar: Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home: Heaven lies about us in our infancy! Shades of the prison-house begin to close Upon the growing boy.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker suggests the soul comes from a divine source but forgets it as it grows.
- In plain terms
- We arrive from heaven with glory, but we forget it as we grow up.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize that adult life often obscures our innate spiritual origins.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you feel you once knew something you now forget?
- What feels like home to your soul?
Another view
It relies on a specific religious view of the soul.
More from William Wordsworth
Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?
Permalink to quote #165 The youth, who daily farther from the east Must travel, still is Nature's priest, And by the vision splendid Is on his way attended; At length the man perceive…
Permalink to quote #167 Ye blessed Creatures, I have heard the call Ye to each other make; I see The heavens laugh with you in your jubilee; My heart is at your festival, My head hath…
Permalink to quote #164
Related quotes
I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.
Walt DisneyWalt Disney quote #2 All thoughts that mould the age begin Deep down within the primitive soul.
James Russell LowellJames Russell Lowell quote #4 The nurse of full-grown souls is solitude.
James Russell LowellJames Russell Lowell quote #11