If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
There were days when you peered into yourself, into the secret places of your heart, and what you saw there made you faint with horror. And then, next day, you didn't know what to make of it,you couldn't interpret the horror you had glimpsed the day before. Yes, you know what evil costs.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote explores the internal struggle of confronting one’s own darker emotions and the confusion that follows.
In this quote, Jean-Paul Sartre delves into the complexities of self-exploration and the unsettling feelings that can arise when one confronts the more sinister aspects of their own psyche. The experience of glimpsing one's own potential for evil can lead to feelings of horror, and the subsequent inability to interpret or understand those emotions can create a sense of existential confusion, highlighting the intricate nature of human consciousness and morality.
Themes
Self-ExplorationHorrorEvilMoral ConfusionPsychology
In practice
Example use cases
During a psychological seminar on understanding emotions, one might mention this quote to illustrate the complexities of inner conflict.
More from Jean-Paul Sartre
All quotes →All I want is' - and he uttered the final words through clenched teeth and with a sort of shame - 'to retain my freedom.' I should myself have thought,' said Jacques, 'that freedom consisted in frankly confronting situations into which one had deliberately entered, and accepting all one's responsibilities. But that, no doubt, is not your view.
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If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
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A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
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I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
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