The process of writing has something infinite about it. Even though it is interrupted each night, it is one single notation.
Elias CanettiRead
The fear of burglars is not only the fear of being robbed, but also the fear of a sudden and unexpected clutch out of the darkness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the deep-seated anxiety that comes not just from the threat of theft but from the unsettling nature of unpredictability.
Elias Canetti's quote delves into the psychological aspect of fear, emphasizing that the true terror of potential burglary extends beyond the material loss of possessions. It shines a light on the broader implications of fear itself, highlighting how the mere possibility of an unforeseen event, such as an intruder appearing suddenly and unexpectedly, can exacerbate feelings of vulnerability and insecurity in our lives.
Themes
FearVulnerabilityBurglaryAnxietyThe Unexpected
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about personal safety and home security, one might quote Canetti to highlight the emotional impact of fear.
More from Elias Canetti
All quotes βThe paranoiac is the exact image of the ruler. The only difference is their position in the world. One might even think the paranoiac the more impressive of the two because he is sufficient unto himself and cannot be shaken by failure.
Elias CanettiRead
People's fates are simplified by their names.
Elias CanettiRead
There is no such thing as an ugly language. Today I hear every language as if it were the only one, and when I hear of one that is dying, it overwhelms me as though it were the death of the earth.
Elias CanettiRead
Everything one records contains a grain of hope, no matter how deeply it may come from despair.
Elias CanettiRead
The profoundest thoughts of the philosophers have something trickle about them. A lot disappears in order for something to suddenly appear in the palm of the hand.
Elias CanettiRead
Similar quotes
Three quiet days. This hell fiend is like a cat with a mouse. She lets me loose only to pounce upon me again. I am never so frightened as when every thing is still.
Arthur Conan DoyleRead
Finding the courage to go to the places that scare us cannot happen without compassionate inquiry into the workings of ego... Openness doesn't come from resisting our fears but from getting to know them well.
Pema ChodronRead
Knowing how to fight made men more bold, because no one fears doing what it seems to him he has learned to do. Therefore, the ancients wanted their citizens to be trained in every warlike action.
Niccolo MachiavelliRead
There are three kinds of praise, that which we yield, that which we lend, and that which we pay. We yield it to the powerful from fear, we lend it to the weak from interest, and we pay it to the deserving from gratitude.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
Gold is a way of going long on fear, and it has been a pretty good way of going long on fear from time to time. But you really have to hope people become more afraid in a year or two years than they are now. And if they become more afraid you make money, if they become less afraid you lose money, but the gold itself doesnβt produce anything.
Warren BuffettRead
The price of our vitality is the sum of all our fears
David WhyteRead