Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in seeing it, and conquering it.
Jean PaulRead
Sorrows gather around great souls as storms do around mountains; but, like them, they break the storm and purify the air of the plain beneath them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Great individuals experience hardships but emerge stronger, providing clarity and hope to others.
This quote suggests that individuals with great character or significant contributions often face challenges and sorrow, similar to how mountains attract storms. However, just as mountains withstand these storms and subsequently clear the air for those below, great souls also confront their difficulties and, through their resilience, they can inspire and bring relief to others around them.
Themes
SorrowGreat SoulsStormsResiliencePurification
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on overcoming adversity, this quote could highlight the impact of suffering on personal growth.
More from Jean Paul
All quotes βMan's feelings are always purest and most glowing in the hour of meeting and of farewell.
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A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes anothers.
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There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go.
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If self-knowledge is the road to virtue, so is virtue still more the road to self-knowledge.
Jean PaulRead
I would rather dwell in the dim fog of superstition than in air rarefied to nothing by the air-pump of unbelief-in which the panting breast expires, vainly and convulsively gasping for breath.
Jean PaulRead
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