Let every reader do as his conscience bids him.
Hermann Hesse
Conscience, Freedom, Individuality, Moral Choice, Integrity, Personal Responsibility
Hermann Hesse’s Quotes On Topics
Ambiguity | Goldmund | Personal Origin | Pivotal Moment | Physical Individuality | Spiritual Rebirth | Personal Excellence | Talent | War | Educational Disillusionment | Moralizing | Environmental Critique | Existential Critique | Self-discipline | Birth | Stark | Found | Relational Imbalance | Destiny | Existential Truth | More
More Hermann Hesse Quotes
“The bourgeois today burns as heretics and hangs as criminals those to whom he erects monuments tomorrow.” Hermann Hesse
Bourgeois, Heretics, Monuments, Historical Irony, Societal Hypocrisy, Cultural Evolution
Hermann Hesse Bourgeois, Heretics, Monuments, Historical Irony, Societal Hypocrisy, Cultural Evolution“They both listened silently to the water, which to them was not just water, but the voice of life, the voice of Being, the voice of perpetual Becoming.” Hermann Hesse
Water, Life, Becoming, Natural Wisdom, Existential Insight, Spiritual Metaphor
Hermann Hesse Water, Life, Becoming, Natural Wisdom, Existential Insight, Spiritual Metaphor“Siddhartha does nothing, he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he passes through the things of the world like a rock through water, without doing anything, without stirring; he is drawn, he lets himself fall. His goal attracts him, because he doesn't let anything enter his soul which might oppose the goal.” Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha, Goal, Soul, Spiritual Journey, Non-attachment, Focused Determination
Hermann Hesse Siddhartha, Goal, Soul, Spiritual Journey, Non-attachment, Focused Determination“Who travels far will often see things Far removed from what was believed as Truth.” Hermann Hesse
Travels, Truth, Far, Personal Growth, Perspective Shift, Knowledge Expansion
Hermann Hesse Travels, Truth, Far, Personal Growth, Perspective Shift, Knowledge Expansion“To nobody can you communicate in words and teachings, what happened to you in your hour of enlightenment.” Hermann Hesse
Enlightenment, Experience, Communication, Personal Truth, Ineffability, Inner Wisdom
Hermann Hesse Enlightenment, Experience, Communication, Personal Truth, Ineffability, Inner Wisdom“Mozart is waiting for me. Pablo is waiting for me.” Hermann Hesse
Mozart, Pablo, Waiting, Artistic Connection, Spiritual Journey, Personal Destiny
Hermann Hesse Mozart, Pablo, Waiting, Artistic Connection, Spiritual Journey, Personal Destiny“I was a gamble of Nature, a throw of the dice into an uncertain realm, leading perhaps to something new, perhaps to nothing; and to let this throw from the primordial depths take effect, to feel its will inside myself and adopt it completely as my own will: that alone was my vocation. That alone! I.” Hermann Hesse
Destiny, Purpose, Uncertainty, Existence, Self Discovery, Inner Will
Hermann Hesse Destiny, Purpose, Uncertainty, Existence, Self Discovery, Inner Will“Knulp was right in doing what his nature demanded and what few others could do, in speaking to strangers like a child and winning their hearts, in saying pleasant things to ladies of all ages, and making Sundays out of weekdays.” Hermann Hesse
Nature, Authenticity, Connection, Innocence, Kindness, Joy
Hermann Hesse Nature, Authenticity, Connection, Innocence, Kindness, Joy“In fear I hurried this way and that. I had the taste of blood and chocolate in my mouth, the one as hateful as the other.” Hermann Hesse
Fear, Blood, Chocolate, Emotional Conflict, Sensory Experience, Existential Struggle
Hermann Hesse Fear, Blood, Chocolate, Emotional Conflict, Sensory Experience, Existential Struggle“At one time I had given much thought to why men were so very rarely capable of living for an ideal. Now I saw that many, no, all men were capable of dying for one.” Hermann Hesse
Ideals, Sacrifice, Humanity, Introspection, Values, Life Purpose
Hermann Hesse Ideals, Sacrifice, Humanity, Introspection, Values, Life Purpose“And all the voices, all the goals, all the yearnings, all the sorrows, all the pleasures, all the good and evil, all of them together was the world. All of them together was the stream of events, the music of life.” Hermann Hesse
Voices, World, Music, Life’s Totality, Existential Harmony, Universal Interconnection
Hermann Hesse Voices, World, Music, Life’s Totality, Existential Harmony, Universal Interconnection“Therefore, it seems to me that everything that exists is good – death as well as life, sin as well as holiness, wisdom as well as folly. Everything is necessary, everything needs only my agreement, my assent, my loving understanding; then all is well with me and nothing can harm me.” Hermann Hesse
Existence, Duality, Acceptance, Wisdom, Love, Understanding
Hermann Hesse Existence, Duality, Acceptance, Wisdom, Love, Understanding“I was out of my bed in one second, trembling with excitement, and I dashed to the door and into the adjoining room, where I could watch the streets below from the windows.” Hermann Hesse
Excitement, Streets, Windows, Youthful Enthusiasm, Observational Curiosity, World Exploration
Hermann Hesse Excitement, Streets, Windows, Youthful Enthusiasm, Observational Curiosity, World Exploration“His life oscillates, as everyone’s does, not merely between two poles, such as the body and the spirit, the saint and the sinner, but between thousands and thousands.” Hermann Hesse
Oscillation, Duality, Existence, Complexity, Experience, Human Nature
Hermann Hesse Oscillation, Duality, Existence, Complexity, Experience, Human Nature“What is the holding of breath? It is a flight from the Self, it is a temporary escape from the torment of Self. It is a temporary palliative against the pain and folly of life.” Hermann Hesse
Breath, Escape, Suffering, Mindfulness, Self Awareness, Temporary Relief
Hermann Hesse Breath, Escape, Suffering, Mindfulness, Self Awareness, Temporary Relief“Theory is knowledge that doesn't work. Practice is when everything works and you don't know why.” Hermann Hesse
Theory, Practice, Knowledge, Practical Wisdom, Intellectual Limitations, Experiential Learning
Hermann Hesse Theory, Practice, Knowledge, Practical Wisdom, Intellectual Limitations, Experiential Learning“Like one who has eaten and drunk too much and vomits painfully and then feels better, so did the restless man wish he could rid himself with one terrific heave of these pleasures, of these habits of this entirely senseless life.” Hermann Hesse
Restlessness, Habits, Discomfort, Renewal, Self Awareness, Personal Growth
Hermann Hesse Restlessness, Habits, Discomfort, Renewal, Self Awareness, Personal Growth“Teaching and surrounded by disciples, he was wandering through the land, with no property, with no home, with no wife, in the yellow cloak of an ascetic, but with a serene brow: a blissful man.” Hermann Hesse
Teaching, Wandering, Blissful, Spiritual Journey, Material Detachment, Inner Peace
Hermann Hesse Teaching, Wandering, Blissful, Spiritual Journey, Material Detachment, Inner Peace