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The Machines Men Are So Intent On Making Have Carried Them Very Far From The Old Sweet Things.
-Sherwood Anderson
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The Machines Men Are

Sherwood Anderson
...
The Machines Men Are So Intent On Making Have Carried Them Very Far From The Old Sweet Things.

Understanding the Quote: "the machines men are so intent on making have carried them very..."

This quote by Sherwood Anderson reflects deeply on the theme of sweet. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Sweet, Men, Machines, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Sherwood Anderson interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Sherwood Anderson

Sherwood Anderson is celebrated for insightful thoughts on sweet and men. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Sweet
Men
Machines
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Wind
Clothes
The Whole Object Of Education Is...to Develop The Mind. The Mind Should Be A Thing That Works.
Education
Mind
Should
Her Thoughts Ran Away To Her Girlhood With Its Passionate Longing For Adventure And She Remembered The Arms Of Men That Had Held Her When Adventure Was A Possible Thing For Her. Particularly She Remembered One Who Had For A Time Been Her Lover And Who In The Moment Of His Passion Had Cried Out To Her More Than A Hundred Times, Saying The Same Words Madly Over And Over: "you Dear! You Dear! You Lovely Dear!" The Words, She Thought, Expressed Something She Would Have Liked To Have Achieved In Life.
Passion
Adventure
Men
Wait And Wait. Most People's Lives Are Spent Waiting.
People
Waiting
There Is This Thing Called Life. We Live It, Not As We Intend Or Wish, But As We Are Driven On By Forces Outside And Inside Ourselves.
Life
Wish
Driven
Love Is Like A Wind Stirring The Grass Beneath Trees On A Black Night,' He Had Said. 'you Must Not Try To Make Love Definite. It Is The Divine Accident Of Life. If You Try To Be Definite And Sure About It And To Live Beneath The Trees, Where Soft Night Winds Blow, The Long Hot Day Of Disappointment Comes Swiftly And The Gritty Dust From Passing Wagons Gathers Upon Lips Inflamed And Made Tender By Kisses.
Disappointment
Kissing
Night
He Thought About Himself And To The Young That Always Brings Sadness.
Sadness
Young
I Am A Lover And Have Not Found My Thing To Love.
Love
Lovers
Found
Dare To Be Strong And Courageous. That Is The Road. Venture Anything. Be Brave Enough To Dare To Be Loved. Be Something More Than Man Or Woman. Be Tandy.
Strong
Men
Brave
A Man Needs A Purpose For Real Health.
Real
Men
Needs
I Think That Those Of Us Who Are What Are Called Intellectuals Make A Terrible Mistake In Overvaluing The Yen We Have For The Arts, Books, Etc. There Is A Sweet, Fine Quality In Life That Has Nothing To Do With This, And More And More I Find Myself Valuing Myself With Those People.
Sweet
Art
Mistake
I Am Pregnant With Song. My Body Aches But Do Not Betray Me. I Will Sing Songs And Hide Them Away. I Will Tear Them Into Bits And Throw Them In The Street. The Streets Of My City Are Full Of Dark Holes. I Will Hide My Songs In The Holes Of The Streets.
Song
Dark
Cities
Work Accomplished Means Little. It Is In The Past. What We All Want Is The Glorious And Living Present.
Mean
Past
Want
It Has Long Been My Desire To Be A Little Worm In The Fair Apple Of Progress.
Apples
Long
Progress
It Is Apparent That Nations Cannot Exist For Us. They Are The Playthings Of Children, Such Toys As Children Break From Boredom And Weariness. The Branch Of A Tree Is My Country. My Freedom Sleeps In A Mulberry Bush. My Country Is In The Shivering Legs Of A Little Lost Dog.
Country
Dog
Children
The Machines Men Are So Intent On Making Have Carried Them Very Far From The Old Sweet Things.
Sweet
Men
Machines
Nothing Gives Quite The Satisfaction That Doing Things Brings.
Giving
Satisfaction
The Life Of Reality Is Confused, Disorderly, Almost Always Without Apparent Purpose, Whereas In The Artist's Imaginative Life There Is Purpose. There Is Determination To Give The Tale, The Song, The Painting, Form -- To Make It True And Real To The Theme, Not To Life.
Song
Art
Determination
From Being Quite Sure Of Himself And His Future He Becomes Not At All Sure. If He Be An Imaginative Boy A Door Is Torn Open And For The First Time He Looks Out Upon The World, Seeing, As Though They Marched In Procession Before Him, The Countless Figures Of Men Who Before His Time Have Come Out Of Nothingness Into The World, Lived Their Lives And Again Disappeared Into Nothingness. The Sadness Of Sophistication Has Come To The Boy.
Sadness
Boys
Men
If I Can Write Everything Out Plainly, Perhaps I Will Myself Understand Better What Has Happened.
Writing
Happened
Ifs
Dare To Be Strong And Courageous. That Is The Road. Venture Anything.
Strong
Venture
Courageous
Draw, Draw, Hundreds Of Drawings. Try To Remain Humble. Smartness Kills Everything.
Humble
Drawing
Trying
Friends You Have, People You Love, Die And Are Born Again.
Death
People
Born Again
Sometimes I Think We Americans Are The Loneliest People In The World. To Be Sure, We Hunger For The Power Of Affection, The Self-acceptance That Gives Life. It Is The Oldest And Strongest Hunger In The World. But Hungering Is Not Enough.
Acceptance
Thinking
Self
Draw, Draw, Hundreds Of Drawings. Try To Remain Humble. Smartness Kills Everything.
Humble
Drawing
Trying
Those Who Are To Follow The Arts Should Have A Training In What Is Called Poverty. Given A Comfortable Middle-class Start In Life, The Artist Is Almost Sure To End Up By Becoming A Bellyacher, Constantly Complaining Because The Public Does Not Rush Forward At Once To Proclaim Him.
Art
Should Have
Class
What Is To Be Got At To Make The Air Sweet, The Ground Good Under The Feet, Can Only Be Got At By Failure, Trial, Again And Again And Again Failure.
Sweet
Air
Feet
You Must Try To Forget All You Have Learned,” Said The Old Man. “you Must Begin To Dream. From This Time On You Must Shut Your Ears To The Roaring Of The Voices.
Dream
Men
Voice
The Writer, An Old Man With A White Moustache, Had Some Difficulty Getting Into Bed.
Book
Men
White
All Good New Orleanians Go To Look At The Mississippi At Least Once A Day. At Night It Is Like Creeping Into A Dark Bedroom To Look At A Sleeping Child--something Of That Sort--gives You The Same Warm Nice Feeling, I Mean.
Children
Nice
Mean
Father Was Made For Romance. For Him There Was No Such Thing As A Fact.
Father
Romance
Facts
When A Job Is To Be Done There's No Use Putting It Off.
Jobs
Use
Done
A Man Needs A Purpose For Real Health.
Real
Men
Needs
Learn To Draw. Try To Make Your Hand So Unconsciously Adept That It Will Put Down What You Feel Without Your Having To Think Of Your Hands. Then You Can Think Of The Thing Before You.
Thinking
Hands
Drawing
The Lives Of People Are Like Young Trees In A Forest. They Are Being Choked By Climbing Vines. The Vines Are Old Thoughts And Beliefs Planted By Dead Men.
Life
Men
Climbing
Everyone Knows Of The Talking Artists. Throughout All Of The Known History Of The World They Have Gathered In Rooms And Talked. They Talk Of Art And Are Passionately,almost Feverishly, In Earnest About It. They Think It Matters Much More Than It Does.
Art
Thinking
Talking
Realism, In So Far As The Word Means Reality To Life, Is Always Bad Art.
Art
Mean
Reality
Many People Must Live And Die Alone, Even In Winesburg.
People
Dies
In Middle America Men Are Awakening. Like Awkward And Untrained Boys We Begin To Turn Toward Maturity And With Our Awakening We Hunger For Song. But In Our Towns And Fields There Are Few Memory Haunted Places. Here We Stand In Roaring City Streets, On Steaming Coal Heaps, In The Shadow Of Factories From Which Come Only The Grinding Roar Of Machines. We Do Not Sing But Mutter In The Darkness. Our Lips Are Cracked With Dust And With The Heat Of Furnaces. We But Mutter And Feel Our Way Toward The Promise Of Song.
Song
Memories
Maturity
I Think That Those Of Us Who Are What Are Called Intellectuals Make A Terrible Mistake In Overvaluing The Yen We Have For The Arts, Books, Etc. There Is A Sweet, Fine Quality In Life That Has Nothing To Do With This, And More And More I Find Myself Valuing Myself With Those People.
Sweet
Art
Mistake
I Am A Little Thing, A Tiny Little Thing On The Vast Prairies. I Know Nothing. My Mouth Is Dirty. I Cannot Tell What I Want. My Feet Are Sunk In The Black Swampy Land, But I Am A Lover. I Love Life. In The End Love Shall Save Me.
Dirty
Love Life
Land
In Youth There Are Always Two Forces Fighting In People. The Warm Unthinking Little Animal Struggles Against The Thing That Reflects And Remembers
Struggle
Fighting
Animal
Father Was Made For Romance. For Him There Was No Such Thing As A Fact.
Father
Romance
Facts
Her Thoughts Ran Away To Her Girlhood With Its Passionate Longing For Adventure And She Remembered The Arms Of Men That Had Held Her When Adventure Was A Possible Thing For Her. Particularly She Remembered One Who Had For A Time Been Her Lover And Who In The Moment Of His Passion Had Cried Out To Her More Than A Hundred Times, Saying The Same Words Madly Over And Over: "you Dear! You Dear! You Lovely Dear!" The Words, She Thought, Expressed Something She Would Have Liked To Have Achieved In Life.
Passion
Adventure
Men
If People Did Not Want Their Stories Told, It Would Be Better For Them To Keep Away From Me.
People
Would Be
Stories
Everyone Knows Of The Talking Artists. Throughout All Of The Known History Of The World They Have Gathered In Rooms And Talked. They Talk Of Art And Are Passionately,almost Feverishly, In Earnest About It. They Think It Matters Much More Than It Does.
Art
Thinking
Talking
Above All Avoid Taking The Advice Of Men Who Have No Brains And Do Not Know What They Are Talking About.
Men
Talking
Advice
There Is A Time In The Life Of Every Boy When He For The First Time Takes The Backward View Of Life. Perhaps That Is The Moment When He Crosses The Line Into Manhood.
Boys
Views
Lines
Most People Are Afraid To Trust Their Imaginations And The Artist Is Not.
Artist
People
Imagination
Wait And Wait. Most People's Lives Are Spent Waiting.
People
Waiting
You Can Make It All Right If You Will Only Be Satisfied To Remain Small," I Told Myself. I Had To Keep Saying It Over And Over To Myself. "be Little. Don't Try To Be Big. Work Under The Guns. Be A Little Worm In The Fair Apple Of Life.
Gun
Apples
Trying
It Is No Use. I Find It Impossible To Work With Security Staring Me In The Face.
Use
Faces
Impossible
I Think The Whole Glory Of Writing Lies In The Fact That It Forces Us Out Of Ourselves And Into The Lives Of Others.
Lying
Writing
Thinking
I Had A World, And It Slipped Away From Me. The War Blew Up More Than The Bodies Of Men....it Blew Ideas Away.
War
Men
Ideas
In The Beginning When The World Was Young There Were A Great Many Thoughts But No Such Thing As Truth. Man Made The Truths Himself And Each Truth Was A Composite Of A Great Many Vague Thoughts. All About In The World Were Truths And They Were All Beautiful.
Men
People
World
On The Trees Are Only A Few Gnarled Apples That The Pickers Have Rejected. They Look Like The Knuckles Of Doctor Reefy's Hands. One Nibbles At Them And They Are Delicious. Into A Little Round Place At The Side Of The Apple Has Been Gathered All Its Sweetness. One Runs From Tree To Tree Over The Frosted Ground Picking The Gnarled, Twisted Apples And Filling His Pockets With Them. Only The Few Know The Sweetness Of The Twisted Apples.
Running
Doctors
Hands
You Won’t Arrive. It Is An Endless Search.
Endless
The Thing Of Course, Is To Make Yourself Alive. Most People Remain All Of Their Lives In A Stupor.
People
Alive
Courses
The Eighteen Years He Has Lived Seem But A Moment, A Breathing Space In The Long March Of Humanity. Already He Hears Death Calling. With All His Heart He Wants To Come Close To Some Other Human, Touch Someone With His Hands, Be Touched By The Hand Of Another.
Heart
Breathing Space
Hands
I Feel That I Am Writing Out Of A Full Life. I Am A Rich Man, Rich In Men Known, In Adventures Had. I Am Rich With Living.
Money
Writing
Adventure
The Fruition Of The Year Had Come And The Night Should Have Been Fine With A Moon In The Sky And The Crisp Sharp Promise Of Frost In The Air, But It Wasn't That Way. It Rained And Little Puddles Of Water Shone Under The Street Lamps On Main Street. In The Woods In The Darkness Beyond The Fair Ground Water Dripped From The Black Trees.
Moon
Night
Air
When A Man Publishes A Book, There Are So Many Stupid Things Said That He Declares He'll Never Do It Again. The Praise Is Almost Always Worse Than The Criticism.
Stupid
Book
Writing
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