Definitions HQ

Inner life (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠what the “most useless of men” testify to: that this intoxicating world is not purely external but also exists within.

The Inner life (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠read differently by each: one man takes its stirrings as physiological, another blames his neighbours, another finds in them a religious revelation.

The Inner life (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠as volatile as the outer, where a continent may sink or a pestilence break out; failing to adapt to it is as costly as ineptitude in the world outside.

The Inner life (n.) neglected ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠will irrupt into the outer: the prosperous manufacturer who remembered his youthful love of art put artistic designs on his wares — and went bankrupt.

The Inner life (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the outer world seen in a mirror — and the outer world is equally a compensatory mirror-image of the inner; we stand between the two.

The Inner life (n.) was ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠once a sheltering haven; science has made it a cesspool.