Article image

12 Pearls of Wisdom From T.S. Eliot

T.S. Eliot was one of the most brilliant poets of the 20th century. Born Thomas Stearns Eliot in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1888, he created an incredible oeuvre in his lifetime, spanning poetry, plays, literary criticism, and philosophy. His most famous works include “The Waste Land” and “Four Quartets,” the latter of which is a meditation on time and history. He graduated from Harvard, studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. His work has influenced generations of writers: Stephen King is among his many famous fans, incorporating lines and references from Eliot’s work into his films. Eliot’s 1939 poem collection, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, also inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 hit musical Cats.

What makes Eliot’s writing so poignant even now, decades after publication, is not necessarily his accolades or prestige, but the timelessness of his observations. Eliot understood how to balance tradition and modernity, and how to skillfully wield his outsider status to create a trademark ethereal quality to his work. As he wrote in a letter to his friend Herbert Read, he saw himself as an American born in the South but educated in New England, who never fully fit in either place, “and who so was never anything anywhere.” Readers have found solace in and drawn deep inspiration from Eliot’s writing thanks in part to his relatable, nomadic core. Here, we’ve rounded up 12 quotes that best illustrate the timeless wisdom that this game-changing poet imparted on the world.

Where is the Life we have lost in living? / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? / Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
“The Rock,” 1934

Share Quote

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
Preface to "Transit of Venus: Poems by Harry Crosby," 1931

Share Quote

In a minute there is time / For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” 1915

Share Quote

To make an end is to make a beginning. / The end is where we start from.
"Four Quartets," 1943

Share Quote

Success is relative. It is what we make of the mess we have made of things.
"The Family Reunion," 1939

Share Quote

Whatever you think, be sure it is what you think; whatever you want, be sure that is what you want; whatever you feel, be sure that is what you feel.
"Four Quartets," 1943

Share Quote

For last year's words belong to last year's language / And next year's words await another voice.
"Four Quartets," 1943

Share Quote

Fortunate the man who, at the right moment meets the right friend
"Notes Towards the Definition of Culture," 1948

Share Quote

Love is most nearly itself / When here and now cease to matter.
“East Coker,” 1943

Share Quote

We do not pass through the same door twice / Or return to the door through which we did not pass.
“Little Gidding,” 1942

Share Quote

Music heard so deeply / That is not heard at all, but you are / The music / While the music lasts.
“The Dry Salvages,” 1941

Share Quote

The end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time.
“Little Gidding,” 1942

Share Quote

Photo credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

Author image
About the Author
Joyce Chen
Joyce Chen is a writer, editor, and community builder based in Seattle, Washington.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "Always to try to be a little ___ than is necessary." - J.M. Barrie

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than walk alone in the light.

separator icon
Helen Keller
motivation theme icon

April, dressed in all his trim, hath put a spirit of youth in everything.

separator icon
William Shakespeare
hope theme icon

Failure is a greater teacher than success. Listen, learn, go on.

separator icon
Clarissa Pinkola Estés
love theme icon

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

separator icon
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
wisdom theme icon

Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play.

separator icon
Jane Goodall
happiness theme icon

Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.

separator icon
Pope John Paul II
motivation theme icon

Some things are best mended by a break.

separator icon
Edith Wharton
hope theme icon

Learning never exhausts the mind.

separator icon
Leonardo da Vinci
love theme icon

It isn't just talent. You have to have something else. You have to have a kind of nerve.

separator icon
Georgia O’Keeffe
wisdom theme icon

Art is a language which anneals individuals to each other through experiences that are uniquely human.

separator icon
Ann Lauterbach
happiness theme icon

Love... is the honoring of others in a way that grants them the grace of their own autonomy.

separator icon
Anne Truitt