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You Wish To Be Liked. I Wish Simply To Be. One Day You Will Know What That Means, Perhaps. And You Will Smile. Not Against Me. But With Me.
-John Fowles
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You Wish To Be

John Fowles
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You Wish To Be Liked. I Wish Simply To Be. One Day You Will Know What That Means, Perhaps. And You Will Smile. Not Against Me. But With Me.

Understanding the Quote: "you wish to be liked. i wish simply to be. one day..."

This quote by John Fowles reflects deeply on the theme of mean. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Mean, Wish, One Day, 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 mean and wish. 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
Mean
Wish
One Day
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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?
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The Privileges Of Knowledge Have To Be Bought At The Cost Of The Consolations Of Ignorance.
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Privilege
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.
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The Price Of Tapping Water Into Every House Is That No One Values Water Any More.
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House
Tapping
The Best Wines Take The Longest To Mature.
Wine
Mature
Best Wine
He Is Solid; Immovable, Iron-willed. He Showed Me One Day His Killing Bottle. I'm Imprisoned In It. Fluttering Against The Glass. Because I Can See Through It I Still Think I Can Escape. I Have Hope. But It's All An Illusion. A Thick Round Wall Of Glass.
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Thinking
Glasses
There Are Only Two Races On This Planet - The Intelligent And The Stupid.
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Silly
Intelligent
I Knew I Would Always Want To Go On Living With Myself, However Hollow I Became, However Diseased.
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Want
Diseased
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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Intelligent
Imagination
I Think It Is Interesting That We Have Come Back To Star- And Space Ships. Jet Will Do For A Transport Shorthand; Yet When Man Really Reaches, Across The Vast Seas Of Space, He Still Reaches In Ships.
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Thinking
There Cannot Be Any True Leisure Until All The World Possesses It Equally.
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Leisure
There Comes A Time In Each Life Like A Point Of Fulcrum. At That Time You Must Accept Yourself. It Is Not Any More What You Will Become. It Is What You Are And Always Will Be.
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Philosophy
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To Write Poetry And To Commit Suicide, Apparently So Contradictory, Had Really Been The Same, Attempts At Escape.
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Crafts
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Creating
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Rooms
Empty
The Supposed Great Misery Of Our Century Is The Lack Of Time.
Misery
Century
Lack Of Time
Ask Me To Marry You." "will You Marry Me?" "no.
Will You Marry Me
Marry Me
Ask Me
No Amount Of Reading And Intelligent Deduction Could Supplant The Direct Experience.
Reading
Intelligent
Experience
Evolution Did Not Intend Trees To Grow Singly. Far More Than Ourselves They Are Social Creatures, And No More Natural As Isolated Specimens Than Man Is As A Marooned Sailor Or Hermit.
Men
Tree
Sailor
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.
Beautiful
Baseball
War
Another Reason I Think The Novel Will Survive Is That The Reader Has To Work In A Novel. In A Film, You Are Presented With Someone Else's Imagination Exactly Bodied Out. The Marvelous Thing About A Novel Is That Every Reader Will Imagine Even The Very Simplest Sentence Slightly Differently.
Thinking
Imagination
Empathy
Content Is A Word Unknown To Life; It Is Also A Word Unknown To Man.
Life
Men
Contentment
All Novelists Should Live In Two Different Worlds: A Real One And An Unreal One.
Real
Two
Novelists
It's Despair At The Lack Of Feeling, Of Love, Of Reason In The World. It's Despair That Anyone Can Even Contemplate The Idea Of Dropping A Bomb Or Ordering That It Should Be Dropped. It's Despair That So Few Of Us Care. It's Despair That There's So Much Brutality And Callousness In The World. It's Despair That Perfectly Normal Young Men Can Be Made Vicious And Evil Because They've Won A Lot Of Money. And Then Do What You've Done To Me.
Life
Men
Perfectly Normal
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
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.
Fine
Feels
I Can
Always We Try To Put The Wild In A Cage.
Trying
Cages
Environment
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
...all Cynicism Masks A Failure To Cope.
Cynicism
Mask
The Practise Of An Art Is Essential To The Whole Man, Not Because Of What Art Is But Because Of What Art Does To The Artist.
Art
Men
Essentials
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
Duty Largely Consists Of Pretending That The Trivial Is Critical.
Corny
Pretending
Duty
Our Accepting What We Are Must Always Inhibit Our Being What We Ought To Be.
Limits
Accepting
Ought
And I Just Can't Live In This Present. I Would Go Mad If I Did.
Depression
Mad
Mental Illness
There Is Only One Good Definition Of God: The Freedom That Allows Other Freedoms To Exist.
God
Definitions
Love Is The Mystery Between Two People, Not The Identity.
Love Is
Two
People
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