Das war ein vorspeil nur; That was only a prelude; dort wo man Buecher verbrennt, Where one burns books, vebrennt man auch am Ende One will also burn people Menchen. Eventually.
Heinrich HeineRead
Lo, sleep is good, better is death--in sooth The best of all were never to be born.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the value of existence and life choices, suggesting that not being born may be preferable to experiencing the pains of life.
Heinrich Heine's quote explores the profound idea of existence and the human condition, proposing that while sleep is a temporary respite from life's struggles, death may offer a permanent escape. In fact, he suggests that the ultimate relief from suffering might be to never have been born at all, challenging our understanding of life and the value we place on our experiences.
Themes
ExistenceLifeSufferingDeathPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on the meaning of life at a philosophy club meeting.
More from Heinrich Heine
All quotes →Life is all too wondrous sweet, and the world is so beautifully bewildered; it is the dream of an intoxicated divinity.
Heinrich HeineRead
Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings.
Heinrich HeineRead
I care little in the existence of a heaven or hell; self respect does not allow me to guide my acts with an eye toward heavenly salvation or hellish punishment. I pursue the good in life because it is beautiful and attracts me; and shun the bad because it is ugly and repulsive. All our acts should originate from the spring of unselfish love, whether there be a continuation after death or not.
Heinrich HeineRead
I wept in my dreams. I dreamed you lay in the grave; I awoke, and the tears still poured down my cheeks. I wept in my dreams, I dreamed you had left me; I awoke and I went on weeping long and bitterly. I wept in my dreams, I dreamed you were still kind to me; I awoke, and still the flow of my tears streams on.
Heinrich HeineRead
Oh, they loved dearly: their souls kissed, they kissed with their eyes, they were both but one single kiss.
Heinrich HeineRead
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