8 Quotes From Yeats That Will Make You Appreciate Symbolists

William Butler Yeats was born 152 years ago on the 13th of June and yet manages to stay surprisingly relevant even today. Here are a few of his best lines that justify his status as a Nobel Laureate "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation".

1.      When he knew the anti-climactic nature of life.  - “Life is a long preparation for something that never happens.” 

2.      When he called out the stubbornly opinionated. - “All empty souls tend toward extreme opinions.” 

3.      When he realized the sad state of intellect. “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” 

4.      When he accurately defined happiness. -  “Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.” 

5.      When he was partial to creativity - “People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind. ” 

6.      When he did away with any excuses of youth. - “I am persuaded that our intellects at twenty contain all the truths we shall ever find” 

7.      When he put us in an existential reflection - “Everything exists, everything is true, and the earth is only a little dust under our feet.” 

8.      When he warned against quick judgment. - “There is some Myth for every man, which, if we but knew it, would make us understand all that he did and thought.”