Living substance conquers the frenzy of destruction only in the ecstasy of procreation.
Walter BenjaminRead
There is no document of civilization which is not at the same time a document of barbarism.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Civilization and barbarism coexist; every culture's achievements also bear the marks of its darker past.
Walter Benjamin's quote suggests that the advancements and accomplishments of civilization are intrinsically linked to the barbaric actions that have accompanied humanity throughout history. It highlights the duality of human progress, where even the most refined cultures have roots in violence, oppression, and brutality, thus challenging us to recognize and confront these aspects within our own histories.
Themes
CivilizationBarbarismHistoryProgressDuality
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on historical philosophy, this quote can be used to illustrate the complex nature of human achievements.
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All quotes →The illiterate of the future will not be the man who cannot read the alphabet, but the one who cannot take a photograph.
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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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