Love of God is not always the same as love of good.
Hermann Hesse
God, Good, Love, Moral Complexity, Spiritual Distinction, Philosophical Insight
Hermann Hesse’s Quotes On Topics
Relational Depth | Continuity | Experiential Learning | Nobility | Steppenwolf | Moment | Perspective | Universal Value | Humanity | Spontaneously | Universal Suffering | Struggle | Loved | Personal Wisdom | Spiritual Symbolism | Ethics | Limits | Friends | Divine Intervention | Artistic Appreciation | More
More Hermann Hesse Quotes
“My lie has been miserable and difficult, and yet to others and sometimes to myself, it has seemed rich and wonderful. 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.” Hermann Hesse
Lie, Life, Darkness, Light, Struggle, Perception
Hermann Hesse Lie, Life, Darkness, Light, Struggle, Perception“The world was beautiful when looked at in this way-without any seeking, so simple, so childlike.” Hermann Hesse
Beauty, Simplicity, Perception, Innocence, Existence, Presence
Hermann Hesse Beauty, Simplicity, Perception, Innocence, Existence, Presence“We who bore the mark, felt no anxiety about the shape the future was to take. All of these faiths and teachings seemed to us already dead and useless. The only duty and destiny we acknowledged was that each one of us should become so completely himself, so utterly faithful to the active seed which nature planted within him, that in living out its growth he could be surprised by nothing unknown to come.” Hermann Hesse
Mark, Destiny, Nature, Personal Authenticity, Self-realization, Existential Freedom
Hermann Hesse Mark, Destiny, Nature, Personal Authenticity, Self-realization, Existential Freedom“One of the aphorisms occurred to me now and I wrote it under the picture: “Fate and temperament are two words for one and the same concept.” That was clear to me now.” Hermann Hesse
Fate, Temperament, Understanding, Clarity, Reflection, Wisdom
Hermann Hesse Fate, Temperament, Understanding, Clarity, Reflection, Wisdom“Every true reader could, even if not one new book were published, spend decades and centuries studying on, fighting on, continuing to rejoice in the treasure of those already at hand.” Hermann Hesse
Reading, Knowledge, Timelessness, Intellectual Pursuit, Literary Treasures, Lifelong Learning
Hermann Hesse Reading, Knowledge, Timelessness, Intellectual Pursuit, Literary Treasures, Lifelong Learning“I am superior to you only in one point: I'm awake, whereas you are only half awake, or completely asleep sometimes. I call a man awake who knows in his conscious reason his innermost unreasonable force, drives, and weaknesses and knows how to deal with them.” Hermann Hesse
Awake, Superior, Conscious, Self-awareness, Personal Growth, Psychological Insight
Hermann Hesse Awake, Superior, Conscious, Self-awareness, Personal Growth, Psychological Insight“Wisdom is nothing but a preparation of the soul, a capacity, a secret art of thinking, feeling and breathing thoughts of unity at every moment of life.” Hermann Hesse
Wisdom, Preparation, Unity, Consciousness, Soul, Personal Growth
Hermann Hesse Wisdom, Preparation, Unity, Consciousness, Soul, Personal Growth“Every phenomenon on earth is symbolic, and each symbol is an open gate through which the soul, if it is ready, can enter into the inner part of the world, where you and I and day and night are all one.” Hermann Hesse
Symbolism, Connection, Unity, Spirituality, Inner Journey, Consciousness
Hermann Hesse Symbolism, Connection, Unity, Spirituality, Inner Journey, Consciousness“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 wanted to say a prayer and tried hard to remember one, but all I could think of was silly phrases such as ‘Dear Sir’ and ‘Under the Circumstances’. In my sadness and confusion I mumbled those.” Hermann Hesse
Prayer, Confusion, Expression, Sadness, Spirituality, Introspection
Hermann Hesse Prayer, Confusion, Expression, Sadness, Spirituality, Introspection“It is not Kafka's fault that his wonderful writings have lately turned into a fad, and are read by people who have neither the ability nor the desire to absorb literature.” Hermann Hesse
Kafka, Fad, Literature, Artistic Appreciation, Cultural Critique, Literary Depth
Hermann Hesse Kafka, Fad, Literature, Artistic Appreciation, Cultural Critique, Literary Depth“In reality there was only one thing you dreaded: letting yourself fall, taking the step into uncertainty, the little step beyond all the securities that existed. And whoever had once surrendered himself, one single time, whoever had practiced the great act of confidence and entrusted himself to fate, was liberated. He no longer obeyed the laws of earth; he had fallen into space and swung along in the dance of the constellations. That was it.” Hermann Hesse
Dread, Fall, Uncertainty, Liberation, Personal Transformation, Existential Freedom
Hermann Hesse Dread, Fall, Uncertainty, Liberation, Personal Transformation, Existential Freedom“A person or an act is never entirely Sansara or entirely Nirvana, a person is never entirely holy or entirely sinful. It does really seem like this, because we are subject to deception, as if time was something real. Time is not real.” Hermann Hesse
Sansara, Nirvana, Holy, Spiritual Duality, Moral Ambiguity, Existential Insight
Hermann Hesse Sansara, Nirvana, Holy, Spiritual Duality, Moral Ambiguity, Existential Insight“Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish.” Hermann Hesse
Wisdom, Communicable, Foolish, Knowledge Limitations, Experiential Learning, Philosophical Insight
Hermann Hesse Wisdom, Communicable, Foolish, Knowledge Limitations, Experiential Learning, Philosophical Insight“Sentimentality is a basking in feelings that in reality you don't take seriously enough to make the slightest sacrifice to or ever translate into action.” Hermann Hesse
Sentimentality, Feelings, Sacrifice, Emotional Inauthenticity, Moral Critique, Action-oriented Philosophy
Hermann Hesse Sentimentality, Feelings, Sacrifice, Emotional Inauthenticity, Moral Critique, Action-oriented Philosophy“Many verses of the holy books, above all the Upanishads of Sama-Veda spoke of this innermost thing. It is written: "Your soul is the whole world." It says that when a man is asleep, he penetrates his innermost and dwells in Atman. There was wonderful wisdom in these verses; all the knowledge of the sages was told here in enchanting language, pure as honey collected by the bees.” Hermann Hesse
Upanishads, Atman, Wisdom, Spiritual Texts, Universal Soul, Ancient Knowledge
Hermann Hesse Upanishads, Atman, Wisdom, Spiritual Texts, Universal Soul, Ancient Knowledge“I do want more. I am not content with being happy. I was not made for it. It is not my destiny. My destiny is the opposite.” Hermann Hesse
Content, Happy, Destiny, Personal Ambition, Existential Discontent, Life Purpose
Hermann Hesse Content, Happy, Destiny, Personal Ambition, Existential Discontent, Life Purpose“I began to understand that suffering and disappointments and melancholy are there not to vex us or cheapen us or deprive us of our dignity but to mature and transfigure us.” Hermann Hesse
Suffering, Growth, Transformation, Dignity, Emotional Maturity, Life Lessons
Hermann Hesse Suffering, Growth, Transformation, Dignity, Emotional Maturity, Life Lessons“After having been standing by the gate of the garden for a long time, Siddhartha realised that his desire was foolish, which had made him go up to this place, that he could not help his son, that he was not allowed to cling him. Deeply, he felt the love for the run-away in his heart, like a wound, and he felt at the same time that this wound had not been given to him in order to turn the knife in it, that it had to become a blossom and had to shine.” Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha, Desire, Love, Emotional Realization, Personal Acceptance, Spiritual Insight
Hermann Hesse Siddhartha, Desire, Love, Emotional Realization, Personal Acceptance, Spiritual Insight