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There Is No Plan. All Is Hazard. And The Only Thing That Will Preserve Us Is Ourselves.
-John Fowles
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There Is No Plan.

John Fowles
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There Is No Plan. All Is Hazard. And The Only Thing That Will Preserve Us Is Ourselves.

Understanding the Quote: "there is no plan. all is hazard. and the only thing that..."

This quote by John Fowles reflects deeply on the theme of hazards. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Hazards, Plans, Preserves, 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 John Fowles 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 John Fowles

John Fowles is celebrated for insightful thoughts on hazards and plans. 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.

Views: 8780
Topic
Hazards
Plans
Preserves
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Whole Sight; Or All The Rest Is Desolation.
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He Knew The World And Its Absurdities As Only An Intelligent Irishman Can; Which Is To Say That Where His Knowledge Or Memory Failed Him, His Imagination Was Always Ready To Fill The Gap.
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The Human Race Is Unimportant. It Is The Self That Must Not Be Betrayed.' 'i Suppose One Could Say That Hitler Didn't Betray His Self.' He Turned. 'you Are Right. He Did Not. But Millions Of Germans Did Betray Their Selves. That Was The Tragedy.'
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Even More Ominous ... Is The Fact That Since The Second World War A New Kind Of Intellectual Has Emerged In Large Numbers. ... He Is Only Minimally Interested In The Proper Intellectual Significance Of Images And Objects. Such People Are Not Really Intellectuals, But Visuals ... A Visual Is More Interested In Style Than In Content ... A Visual Does Not Feel A Rioting Crowd Being Machine-gunned By The Police, He Simply Sees A Brilliant News Photograph.
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Only Fools Think Our Attitude To Our Fellow Men Is A Thing Distinct From Our Attitude To 'lesser' Life On This Planet.
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We Talked For Hours. He Talked And I Listened. It Was Like Wind And Sunlight. It Blew All The Cobwebs Away.
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The Power Of Women! I've Never Felt So Full Of Mysterious Power. Men Are A Joke. We're So Weak Physically, So Helpless With Things. Still, Even Today. But We're Stronger Than They Are. We Can Stand Their Cruelty. They Can't Stand Ours.
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Only One Same Reason Is Shared By All Of Us: We Wish To Create Worlds As Real As, But Other Than The World That Is. Or Was. This Is Why We Cannot Plan. We Know A World Is An Organism, Not A Machine. We Also Know That A Genuinely Created World Must Be Independent Of Its Creator; A Planned World (a World That Fully Reveals Its Planning) Is A Dead World. It Is Only When Our Characters And Events Begin To Disobey Us That They Begin To Live.
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One Of The Great Fallacies Of Our Time Is That The Nazis Rose To Power Because They Imposed Order On Chaos. Precisely The Opposite Is True - They Were Successful Because They Imposed Chaos On Order. They Tore Up The Commandments, They Denied The Super-ego, What You Will. They Said, "you May Persecute The Minority, You May Kill, You May Torture, You May Couple And Breed Without Love." They Offered Humanity All Its Great Temptations. Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted.
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My Hatred Of Crowds, The Obviousness Of Crowds, Of Anything En Masse. Is This Why I Like Little-known Books? A General Desire To Escape The Main World.
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Our Knowledge Of What The Richer Than Ourselves Possess, And The Poor Do Not, Has Never Been More Widespread. Therefore, Envy, Which Is Wanting What Others Have, And Jealousy, Which Is Not Wanting Others To Have What One Has, Have Never Been More Widespread.
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In Essence The Renaissance Was Simply The Green End Of One Of Civilization's Hardest Winters.
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Being An Atheist Is A Matter Not Of Moral Choice, But Of Human Obligation.
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The Dead Live." "how Do They Live?" "by Love.
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If You Forget Everything Else About Me, Please Remember This. I Walked Down That Street And I Never Looked Back And I Love You. I Love You. I Love You So Much That I Shall Hate You For Ever For Today.
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Between Skin And Skin, There Is Only Light.
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Buying
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Alive. Alive In The Way That Death Is Alive.
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Our Accepting What We Are Must Always Inhibit Our Being What We Ought To Be.
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I Just Think Of Things As Beautiful Or Not. Can't You Understand? I Don't Think Of Good Or Bad. Just Of Beautiful Or Ugly. I Think A Lot Of Nice Things Are Ugly And A Lot Of Nasty Things Are Beautiful.
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An Aphorism Is A Generalization, Therefore Not Modern.
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Generalization
Stained Glass, Engraved Glass, Frosted Glass; Give Me Plain Glass.
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Giving
Stained Glass
You're Not Me. You Can't Feel Like I Feel." "i Can Feel." "no You Can't. You Just Choose Not To Feel Or Something And Everything's Fine." "it's Not Fine. It's Just Not So Bad.
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Ask Me To Marry You." "will You Marry Me?" "no.
Will You Marry Me
Marry Me
Ask Me
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Being True
Felt
Because A Star Explodes And A Thousand Worlds Like Ours Die, We Know This World Is. That Is The Smile: That What Might Not Be, Is.
Nature
Stars
World
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Mean
Wish
One Day
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Art
Men
Essentials
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Voice
Choices
Speak
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Kings
Reality
Long
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Night
Risk
Lasts
An Easterly Is The Most Disagreeable Wind In Lyme Bay — Lyme Bay Being That Largest Bite From The Underside Of England's Outstretched Southwestern Leg — And A Person Of Curiosity Could At Once Have Deduced Several Strong Probabilities About The Pair Who Began To Walk Down The Quay At Lyme Regis, The Small But Ancient Eponym Of The Inbite, One Incisively Sharp And Blustery Morning In The Late March Of 1867.
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Morning
Wind
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Thinking
Mercy
Insects
The Supposed Great Misery Of Our Century Is The Lack Of Time; Our Sense Of That, Not A Disinterested Love Of Science, And Certainly Not Wisdom, Is Why We Devote Such A Huge Proportion Of The Ingenuity And Income Of Our Societies To Finding Faster Ways Of Doing Things - As If The Final Aim Of Mankind Was To Grow Closer Not To A Perfect Humanity, But To A Perfect Lightning-flash.
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Perfect
Humanity
Do You Know That Every Great Thing In The History Of Art And Every Beautiful Thing In Life Is Actually What You Call Nasty Or Has Been Caused By Feelings That You Would Call Nasty? By Passion, By Love, By Hatred, By Truth. Do You Know That?
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Art
Passion
Follow The Accident, Fear The Fixed Plan--that Is The Rule.
Fixed
Plans
Accidents
Time Is Not A Road - It Is A Room.
Time
Rooms
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Self
Age
Adulthood
He Was One Of The Most Supremely Stupid Men I Have Ever Met. He Taught Me A Great Deal.
Stupid
Men
Ironic
We Can Sometimes Recognize The Looks Of A Century Ago On A Modern Face; But Never Those Of A Century To Come.
Looks
Faces
Sometimes
Whatever Sympathy I Feel Towards Religions, Whatever Admiration For Some Of Their Adherents, Whatever Historical Or Biological Necessity I See In Them, Whatever Metaphorical Truth, I Cannot Accept Them As Credible Explanations Of Reality; And They Are Incredible To Me In Proportion To The Degree That They Require My Belief In Positive Human Attributes And Intervenient Powers In Their Divinities.
Sympathy
Reality
Historical
The American Myth Is Of Free Will In Its Simple, Primary Sense. One Can Choose Oneself And Will Oneself; And This Absurdly Optimistic Assumption So Dominates The Republic That It Has Bred All Its Gross Social Injustices.
Optimistic
Simple
Republic
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Past
Animal
Greece Is Like A Mirror. It Makes You Suffer. Then You Learn.' To Live Alone?' To Live. With What You Are.
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Suffering
Greece
Think. In A Minute From Now You Could Be Saying, I Risked Death. I Threw For Life, And I Won Life. It Is A Very Wonderful Feeling. To Have Survived.
Thinking
Feelings
Wonderful
People Who Teach You Cram Old Ideas, Old Views, Old Ways, Into You. Like Covering Plants With Layer After Layer Of Old Earth; It's No Wonder The Poor Things So Rarely Come Up Fresh And Green.
Views
Ideas
People
Which Are You Drinking? The Water Or The Wave?
Drinking
Water
Excellence
One Degrades Oneself Sometimes In The Effort Not To Be Lonely.
Lonely
Effort
Sometimes
I Mean I Never Feel I Feel What I Ought To Feel.
Mean
Feels
Ought
They Looked Down On Her; And She Looked Up Through Them.
The Great Majority Of Modern Third-person Narration Is "i" Narration Very Thinly Disguised.
Majority
Crafts
Modern
Thomas Beecham Was A Pompous Little Band-master Who Stood Against Everything Creative In The Art Of His Time.
Music
Art
Creative
You Come To The United States Not Knowing What To Expect. Then All Your Worst Prejudices Are Confirmed.
Knowing
United States
Prejudice
Most Marriages Recognize This Paradox: Passion Destroys Passion; We Want What Puts An End To Wanting What We Want.
Passion
Want
Paradox
It's No Good. I've Been Trying To Sleep For The Last Half-hour, And I Can't. Writing Here Is A Sort Of Drug. It's The Only Thing I Look Forward To. This Afternoon I Read What I Wrote... And It Seemed Vivid. I Know It Seems Vivid Because My Imagination Fills In All The Bits Another Person Wouldn't Understand. I Mean, It's Vanity. But It Seems A Sort Of Magic... And I Just Can't Live In This Present. I Would Go Mad If I Did
Writing
Mean
Sleep
The World Began In Hazard And Will End In It.
Hazards
World
Ends
The Price Of Tapping Water Into Every House Is That No One Values Water Any More.
Water
House
Tapping
Science Disembodies; Art Embodies.
Art
How Can One Build A Better Self Unless On The Ruins Of The Old?
Self
Ruins
It Came To Me…that I Didn’t Want To Be Anywhere Else In The World At That Moment, That What I Was Feeling At That Moment Justified All I Had Been Through, Because All I Had Been Through Was My Being There. I Was Experiencing…a New Self-acceptance, A Sense That I Had To Be This Mind And This Body, Its Vices And Its Virtues, And That I Had No Other Chance Or Choice.
Acceptance
Self
Choices
Love Is The Mystery Between Two People, Not The Identity.
Love Is
Two
People
The Pronoun Is One Of The Most Terrifying Masks Man Has Invented.
Men
Mask
Pronouns
The Moon Hung Over The Planet Earth, A Dead Thing Over A Dying Thing.
Moon
Dying
Earth
She's Always Looking For Poetry And Passion And Sensitivity, The Whole Romantic Kitchen. I Live On A Rather Simpler Diet.' 'prose And Pudding?''i Don't Expect Attractive Men Necessarily To Have Attractive Souls.
Passion
Men
Soul
Though I Like The Various Forms Of Football In The World, I Don't Think They Begin To Compare With These Two Great Anglo-saxon Ball Games For Sophisticated Elegance And Symbolism. Baseball And Cricket Are Beautiful And Highly Stylized Medieval War Substitutes, Chess Made Flesh, A Mixture Of Proud Chivalry And Base - In Both Senses - Greed. With Football We Are Back To The Monotonous Clashing Armor Of The Brontosaurus.
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Football
Baseball
The Most Important Questions In Life Can Never Be Answered By Anyone Except Oneself.
Life
Philosophy
Important
The Absurdly Neurotic Role You And The Rest Of Your Kind Have Always Attributed To Me Erato, The Goddess Muse Of Erotic Poetry Bears No Relation At All To Reality. As A Matter Of Fact, I Was Trained As A Clinical Psychologist. Who Simply Happens To Have Specialized In The Mental Illness That You, In Your Ignorance, Call Literature.
Writing
Ignorance
Reality
I Will Tell You What War Is. War Is A Psychosis Caused By An Inability To See Relationships. Our Relationship With Our Fellowmen. Our Relationship With Our Economic And Historical Situation. And Above All Our Relationship To Nothingness, To Death.
War
Psychosis
Historical
Duty Is But A Pot. It Holds Whatever Is Put In It, From The Greatest Evil To The Greatest Good.
Evil
Pot
Duty
Content Is A Word Unknown To Life; It Is Also A Word Unknown To Man.
Life
Men
Contentment
The More Abhorrent A News Item The More Comforting It Was To Be The Recipient, Since The Fact That It Had Happened Elsewhere Proved That It Had Not Happened Here, Was Not Happening Here, And Would Therefore Never Happen Here.
Comforting
Abhorrent
News
I Must Fight With My Weapons. Not His. Not Selfishness And Brutality And Shame And Resentment.
Fighting
Selfishness
Brutality
All Novelists Should Live In Two Different Worlds: A Real One And An Unreal One.
Real
Two
Novelists
And I Just Can't Live In This Present. I Would Go Mad If I Did.
Depression
Mad
Mental Illness
There Are Many Reasons Why Novelists Write, But They All Have One Thing In Common - A Need To Create An Alternative World.
Writing
Novelists
Needs
Like All Mystics (and Many Novelists, Not Least The Present One) He Is Baffled, A Child, Before The Real Now; Far Happier Out Of It, In A Narrative Past Or A Prophetic Future, Locked Inside That Weird Tence Grammar Does Not Allow, The Imaginary Present.
Children
Real
Writing
It Is Only When Our Characters And Events Begin To Disobey Us That They Begin To Live.
Character
Events
That Was The Tragedy. Not That One Man Had The Courage To Be Evil. But That Millions Had Not The Courage To Be Good.
Men
Evil
Tragedy
I Am Going To Explain To You Why We Went To War. Why Mankind Always Goes To War. It Is Not Social Or Political. It Is Not Countries That Go To War, But Men. It Is Like Salt. Once One Has Been To War, One Has Salt For The Rest Of One's Life. Do You Understand?
Life
Country
Laughter
I Suppose I'd Had, By The Standards Of That Pre-permissive Time, A Good Deal Of Sex For My Age. Girls, Or A Certain Kind Of Girl, Liked Me; I Had A Car-not So Common Among Undergraduates In Those Days-and I Had Some Money. I Wasn't Ugly; And Even More Important, I Had My Loneliness, Which, As Every Cad Knows, Is A Deadly Weapon With Women. My 'technique' Was To Make A Show Of Unpredictability, Cynicism, And Indifference. Then, Like A Conjurer With His White Rabbit, I Produced The Solitary Heart.
Girl
Sex
Loneliness
Edith Sitwell's Interest In Art Was Largely Confined To Portraits Of Herself.
Art
Portraits
Interest
The Profoundest Distances Are Never Geographical.
Distance
That Is The Great Distinction Between The Sexes. Men See Objects, Women See The Relationships Between Objects.
Sex
Men
Distinction
I Don't Think The English Like Me. I Sold A Colossal Best Seller In America, And They Never Really Forgave Me.
Thinking
America
Like Me
Man Is About To Be Deprived Of A Great Pole - Work Routine. The Nightmare Of Capitalist Society Is Unemployment; The Nightmare Of Cybernetic Society Will Be Employment.
Men
Routine
Nightmare
No Amount Of Reading And Intelligent Deduction Could Supplant The Direct Experience.
Reading
Intelligent
Experience
They're Beautiful. But Sad.' Everything's Sad If You Make It So, I Said.
Beautiful
Said
Ifs
Death Is The Room That Is Always Empty.
Rooms
Empty
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