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Allegories are, in the realm of thought, what ruins are in the realm of things.
Walter Benjamin
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Allegories reflect truths similarly to how ruins embody the remnants of the past.

Walter Benjamin's quote suggests that allegories serve as a representation of deeper ideas and concepts in the mind, akin to ruins that provide insight into former structures and civilizations. Just as ruins are vestiges of history that hint at the grandeur of what once was, allegories encapsulate complex thoughts and moral insights, inviting reflection and understanding of the human experience.

Themes

AllegoryThoughtRuinsPhilosophyMeaning

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture on literary analysis, I might use this quote to illustrate the importance of allegory in understanding deeper themes.

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Living substance conquers the frenzy of destruction only in the ecstasy of procreation.
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If mythic violence is lawmaking, divine violence is law-​destroying; if the former sets boundaries, the latter boundlessly destroys them; if mythic violence brings at once guilt and retribution, divine power only expiates; if the former threatens, the latter strikes; if the former is bloody, the latter is lethal without spilling blood
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Writers are really people who write books not because they are poor, but because they are dissatisfied with the books which they could buy but do not like.
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Nothing is poorer than a truth expressed as it was thought. Committed to writing in such cases, it is not even a bad photograph. Truth wants to be startled abruptly, at one stroke, from her self-immersion, whether by uproar, music or cries for help.
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I am unpacking my library. Yes I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order.
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