quote · Legacy record
It is the unspeakable misery of a life so false as his, that it steals the pith and substance out of whatever realities there are around us, and which were meant by Heaven to be the spirit’s joy and nutriment. To the untrue man, the whole universe is false—it is impalpable—it shrinks to nothing within his grasp. And he himself in so far as he shows himself in a false light, becomes a shadow, or, indeed, ceases to exist.
It is the unspeakable misery of a life so false as his, that it steals the pith and substance out of whatever realities there are around us, and which were meant by Heaven to be the spirit’s joy and nutriment. To the untrue man, the whole universe is false—it is impalpable—it shrinks to nothing within his grasp. And he himself in so far as he shows himself in a false light, becomes a shadow, or, indeed, ceases to exist.
Approximate author period: c. 1834 AD · industrial
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- Author or tradition
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1834 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1804–1864)
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 339352; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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