In Search of Lost Time (also known as Remembrance of Things Past) is a novel written by Marcel Proust. It is considered one of the greatest novels of the 20th century and is known for its extensive depiction of the characters’ inner thoughts and for its use of the literary technique of stream of consciousness.
The novel is set in France and follows the life of the narrator, Marcel, from his childhood through to his adulthood. It is structured as a series of interconnected episodes that follow Marcel’s experiences, memories, and relationships with various people, including his family, friends, and lovers.
One of the main themes of the novel is the passage of time and how it shapes and changes our memories and experiences. Proust explores this theme through the use of memory and recollection, as Marcel reflects on his past and how it has influenced his present.
Another significant theme in the novel is the role of art and literature in shaping and understanding the world. Proust explores this theme through the character of Marcel, who is a writer and artist, and through the various references to literature and art that are woven throughout the novel.
1. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
2. “We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.”
3. “Habit is a second nature which prevents us from knowing the first, of which it has neither the cruelties nor the enchantments.”
4. “The only true voyage of discovery, the only fountain of Eternal Youth, would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes, to behold the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others, to behold the hundred universes that each of them beholds, that each of them is.”
5. “The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
6. “We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world.”
7. “Love is a striking example of how little reality means to us.”
8. “The only paradise is a paradise lost.”
9. “If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time.”
10. “There is no truth more certain than that the present has always been the most critical time of all, since it is the time in which we are living.”
11. “The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.”
12. “The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.”
13. “The real secret of life is to do everything with love.”
14. “All of us have our own lives to lead and must be true to ourselves.”
15. “The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself.”
16. “In this life, we are never lacking in punishment for our faults.”
17. “The only true happiness comes from squandering oneself for a purpose.”
18. “Everything great in the world comes from neurotics. They alone have founded our religions and composed our masterpieces.”
19. “I am who I am and I have the right to be whoever I want.”
20. “We are all bound to the throne of the Supreme Being by a flexible chain which restrains without enslaving us.”
21. “Love is space and time measured by the heart.”
22. “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
23. “The most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance.”
24. “The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.”
25. “The only thing that one can be sure of is that one is uncertain.”
26. “The only paradise is paradise lost.”
27. “Life is too short to be interested in anything but the most important things.”
28. “The only real wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
29. “There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.”
30. “The world is a work of art that does not need our poor applause.”
