Man's life seems to me like a long, weary night that would be intolerable if there were not occasionally flashes of light, the sudden brightness of which is so comforting and wonderful, that the moments of their appearance cancel out and justify the years of darkness.

Mir erscheint das Menschenleben wie eine tiefe, traurige Nacht, die nicht zu ertragen wäre, wenn nicht da und dort Blitze flammten, deren plötzliche Helle so tröstlich und wunderbar ist, daß ihre Sekunden die Jahre des Dunkels auslöschen und rechtfertigen können.

Hermann Hesse

Gertrude

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More information about this quote

Topic

Special moments The human condition

Author

Hermann Hesse

Source

Gertrude

Medium

Novel

Language

German

Time

1910 1910s 20th century

Occupation

Nobel laureate Writer

From

Switzerland Europe

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Hesse, Herman. Getrud [Gertrude]. Albert Langen, 1910.

Current Citation

Hesse, Herman. Gertrude, translated by Hilda Rosner. Picador, 2005.

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A quote by Hermann Hesse about special moments: “Man's life seems to me like a long, weary night that would be intolerable…”
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A quote by Hermann Hesse about special moments: “Man's life seems to me like a long, weary night that would be intolerable…”
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A quote by Hermann Hesse about special moments: “Man's life seems to me like a long, weary night that would be intolerable…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Hermann Hesse

Knowledge can be communicated but not wisdom.

Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha

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Read Siddhartha at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Knowledge Wisdom
Speaker
Siddhartha

Author

Hermann Hesse
Source
Siddhartha
Language
German
Time
1922 1920s 20th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha: Eine Indische Dichtung [Siddhartha: An Indian Poetry]. S. Fischer Verlag, 1922.

Current Citation

Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha, translated by Joachim Neugroschel. Penguin Classics, 2002.

Another quote from the 1910s

I want a girl just like the girl
That married dear old dad.

William Dillon

More information about this quote
Topic
Oedipal issues Mothers and sons

Author

William Dillon
Source
I Want a Girl
Medium
Song
Language
English
Time
1911 1910s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Dillon, William. I Want a Girl (Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad). Composed by Harry Von Tilzer. Harry Von Tilzer Music Pub. Co., 1911.

Another quote about The human condition

Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.

Albert Camus

The Rebel

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More information about this quote
Topic
Human nature Being oneself Authenticity The human condition

Author

Albert Camus
Source
The Rebel
Genre
Political literature
Language
French
Time
1951 1950s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Camus, Albert. L'Homme Revolte [The Rebel]. Gallimard, 1951.

Another quote originally in German

Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man.

Martin Heidegger

Building Dwelling Thinking

More information about this quote
Topic
Language

Author

Martin Heidegger
Source
Building Dwelling Thinking
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
German
Time
1951 1950s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Heidegger, Martin. "Bauen Wohnen Denken [Building Dwelling Thinking]." Darmstadt Symposium on Man and Space. 5 Aug. 1951, Darmstadt, Germany. Lecture.