QuoteProject
Man is a centaur, a tangle of flesh and mind, divine inspiration and dust.
Primo Levi
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects the dual nature of humanity, combining both the physical and intellectual aspects of our existence.

Primo Levi's quote suggests that humans embody a complex integration of both the material and the spiritual, highlighting the inherent contradictions of our nature. As 'centaurs' symbolize a blend of man and beast, Levi uses this metaphor to illustrate that we are not solely driven by physical instincts but also possess a transcendent aspect of thought and creativity, making us both earthly beings and dreamers.

Themes

HumanityNatureSpiritMindBodyDuality

In practice

Example use cases

During a philosophical discussion on the nature of existence.

More from Primo Levi

There is Auschwitz, and so there cannot be God.
Primo LeviRead
The bond between a man and his profession is similar to that which ties him to his country; it is just as complex, often ambivalent, and in general it is understood completely only when it is broken: by exile or emigration in the case of one's country, by retirement in the case of a trade or profession.
Primo LeviRead
To destroy a man is difficult, almost as difficult as to create one: it has not been easy, nor quick, but you Germans have succeeded. Here we are, docile under your gaze; from our side you have nothing more to fear; no acts of violence, no words of defiance, not even a look of judgment.
Primo LeviRead
They sensed that what had happened around them and in their presence, and in them, was irrevocable. Never again could it be cleansed; it would prove that man, the human species - we, in short - had the potential to construct an enormity of pain, and that pain is the only force created from nothing, without cost and without effort. It is enough not to see, not to listen, not to act.
Primo LeviRead
I live in my house as I live inside my skin: I know more beautiful, more ample, more sturdy and more picturesque skins: but it would seem to me unnatural to exchange them for mine.
Primo LeviRead
Imagine now a man who is deprived of everyone he loves, and at the same time of his house, his habits, his clothes, in short, of everything he possesses: he will be a hollow man, reduced to suffering and needs, forgetful of dignity and restraint, for he who loses all often loses himself.
Primo LeviRead

Similar quotes

If we are endowed by our Creator with rights, then why shouldn't those be attainable by gays and lesbians?
Bill NelsonRead
Even if you walk exactly the same route each time - as with a sonnet - the events along the route cannot be imagined to be the same from day to day, as the poet's health, sight, his anticipations, moods, fears, thoughts cannot be the same.
A. R. AmmonsRead
The English think they are free. They are free only during the election of members of parliament.
Jean-Jacques RousseauRead
I cannot discover that anyone knows enough to say definitely what is and what is not possible.
Henry FordRead
I prefer to be accused unjustly, for then I have nothing to reproach myself with, and joyfully offer this to the good Lord. Then I humble myself at the thought that I am indeed capable of doing the thing of which I have been accused.
Therese Of LisieuxRead
And I do not want, and I will not accept, a deal in which I am asked to do nothing, in fact, I'm able to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional income that I don't need, while a parent out there who is struggling to figure out how to send their kid to college suddenly finds that they've got a couple thousand dollars less in grants or student loans.
Barack ObamaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Primo Levi | QuoteProject