“Perhaps some deep-rooted atavism urges the wanderer back to lands which his ancestors left in the dim beginnings of history.”

— W. Somerset Maugham , book The Moon and Sixpence

Source: http://glimmertrain.com/documents/pdfs/MaughamQuote.pdf
Source: The Moon and Sixpence (1919), Ch. 50, p. 1??

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W. Somerset Maugham 158

British playwright, novelist, short story writer 1874–1965

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Context: Our history begins before we are born. We represent the hereditary influences of our race, and our ancestors virtually live in us. The sentiment of ancestry seems to be inherent in human nature, especially in the more civilised races. At all events, we cannot help having a due regard for the history of our forefathers. Our curiosity is stimulated by their immediate or indirect influence upon ourselves. It may be a generous enthusiasm, or, as some might say, a harmless vanity, to take pride in the honour of their name. The gifts of nature, however, are more valuable than those of fortune; and no line of ancestry, however honourable, can absolve us from the duty of diligent application and perseverance, or from the practice of the virtues of self-control and self-help.

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Source: Things Fall Apart (1958), Chapter 13 (p. 115)

“Perhaps some deep-rooted atavism urges the wanderer back to lands which his ancestors left in the dim beginnings of history.”

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W. Somerset Maugham 158

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