A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
They believe themselves Lucifer's equals, Cain, all these pitiful little gnats. But there is only one that we have ever owned to be our superior. There is but one greater than us, and to him... to him we no longer speak.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the themes of pride and superiority, suggesting that many see themselves as equals to powerful figures, yet only one truly stands above them.
In this quote, Neil Gaiman expresses a profound theme of human arrogance and the perception of power. He uses the biblical references to Lucifer and Cain to illustrate how individuals, despite their limitations and failings, often believe themselves to be equal or even superior to greater forces or entities. The phrase 'to him we no longer speak' hints at a disconnection or estrangement from that which is genuinely superior, suggesting a loss of humility and acknowledgment of higher truths or powers.
Themes
PrideSuperiorityHumilityPowerArrogance
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about humility and leadership, this quote is perfect to illustrate the dangers of pride.
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As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.
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The important thing to understand about American history, wrote Mr. Ibis, in his leather-bound journal, is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children, or the easily bored.
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Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
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I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
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