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Meaning
The quote suggests that people have an inner force or deeper self that understands more, wants more clearly, and acts more effectively than the conscious self. It points to the idea that wisdom and will may already exist within us, beyond ordinary awareness.
When It Was Said
Not documented yet.
Who It Was Said To
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Historical Context
Not documented yet.
Source
Demian
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
The phrase appears in the book "Demian" by Hermann Hesse (Google Books snippet); no earlier source was checked.
Did You Know?
Not documented yet.
About Hermann Hesse
German-Swiss poet and novelist
Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet and novelist. He won the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature and is best known for novels such as Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, Narcissus and Goldmund, and The Glass Bead Game. His writing was shaped by his interest in Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions, as well as by his engagement with Jungian analysis. Across his fiction, he returns to the search for authenticity, self-knowledge, and spiritual meaning.
More from Hermann Hesse (262 quotes) →Keep reading Hermann Hesse
- “Wisdom is nothing but a preparation of the soul, a capacity, a secret art of thinking, feeling and breathing…”Hermann Hesse
- “Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, be fortified by it, do wonders throu…”Hermann Hesse
- “Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.”Hermann Hesse
- “I am a star in the firmamentthat observe the world, despises the worldand consumed in its heat.I am the sea b…”Hermann Hesse
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READ THE SOURCE
Books by Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha
2006
Der Steppenwolf
2002
Demian
2000
Das Glasperlenspiel
1990
Narziss und Goldmund
2003