Solitude lies at the lowest depth of the human condition. Man is the only being who feels himself to be alone and the only one who is searching for the Other.
Octavio PazRead
Humankind is never what he is but the self he seeks.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the idea that people are often defined by their aspirations rather than their current state.
Octavio Paz highlights the distinction between a person's true nature and their potential identity. He suggests that humankind is constantly striving to become the person they envision themselves as, indicating that our pursuits and aspirations shape our existence more than any static characteristic. The self we seek reflects our desires, goals, and personal growth, signifying that our journey is about becoming rather than just being.
Themes
HumankindIdentitySelfAspirationGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about pursuing personal dreams.
More from Octavio Paz
All quotes βBy suppressing differences and peculiarities, by eliminating different civilizations and cultures, progress weakens life and favors death
Octavio PazRead
The North American system only wants to consider the positive aspects of reality. Men and women are subjected from childhood to an inexorable process of adaptation certain principles, contained in brief formulas are endlessly repeated by the Press, the radio, the churches, and the schools, and by those kindly, sinister beings, the North American mothers and wives. A person imprisoned by these schemes is like a plant in a flowerpot too small for it he cannot grow or mature.
Octavio PazRead
Poetry is not a genre in harmony with the modern world; its innermost nature is hostile or indifferent to the dogmas of modern times, progress and the cult of the future.
Octavio PazRead
If we are a metaphor of the universe, the human couple is the metaphor par excellence, the point of intersection of all forces and the seed of all forms. The couple is time recaptured, the return to the time before time.
Octavio PazRead
Man, even man debased by the neocapitalism and pseudosocialism of our time, is a marvelous being because he sometimes speaks. Language is the mark, the sign, not of his fall but of his original innocence. Through the Word we may regain the lost kingdom and recover powers we possessed in the far-distant past.
Octavio PazRead
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Gifts, believe me, captivate both men and Gods, Jupiter himself was won over and appeased by gifts.
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And there we all were, as invisible as you could wish to see.
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