Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.
Viktor E. FranklRead
I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Frankl emphasizes that even in the direst circumstances, one can retain an inner sense of freedom and purpose.
In this quote, Viktor E. Frankl reflects on his experiences with individuals who faced extreme suffering and death. He suggests that, despite the physical constraints and dire conditions of their environment, these martyrs displayed an inner strength and freedom that transcended their circumstances, illustrating that true freedom is rooted in one's mindset and attitude, rather than external factors.
Themes
FreedomSufferingMartyrsInner StrengthPurpose
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about resilience in times of adversity.
More from Viktor E. Frankl
All quotes →The crowning experience of all, for the homecoming man, is the wonderful feeling that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear anymore—except his God.
Viktor E. FranklRead
Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.
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It is the pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.
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Logotherapy sees the human patient in all his humanness. I step up to the core of the patient's being. And that is a being in search of meaning, a being that is transcending himself, a being capable of acting in love for others.
Viktor E. FranklRead
The more one forgives himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.
Viktor E. FranklRead
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