Civilization is first of all a moral thing. Without truth, respect for duty, love of neighbor, and virtue, everything is destroyed. The morality of a society is alone the basis of civilization.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
Melancholy is at the bottom of everything, just as at the end of all rivers is the sea. Can it be otherwise in a world where nothing lasts, where all that we have loved or shall love must die? Is death, then, the secret of life? The gloom of an eternal mourning enwraps, more or less closely, every serious and thoughtful soul, as night enwraps the universe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Melancholy is a fundamental part of life, reflecting the inevitability of loss and death.
This quote by Henri Frederic Amiel delves into the profound connection between melancholy and the human experience. It suggests that just as rivers flow into the sea, our emotions and experiences are ultimately permeated by a sense of sadness due to the transient nature of life. It raises deep philosophical questions about death and existence, proposing that the inevitability of loss is a central element of our understanding of life itself. The imagery of gloom and eternal mourning portrays a world where every reflection on love and life is tinged with the awareness of mortality.
Themes
MelancholyLifeDeathLossPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a reflective moment at a memorial service.
More from Henri Frederic Amiel
All quotes →Man never knows what he wants; he aspires to penetrate mysteries and as soon as he has, wants to re-establish them. Ignorance irritates him and knowledge cloys.
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Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence.
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Any landscape is a condition of the spirit.
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True love is that which ennobles the personality, fortifies the heart, and sanctifies the existence.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
It is by teaching that we teach ourselves, by relating that we observe, by affirming that we examine, by showing that we look, by writing that we think, by pumping that we draw water into the well.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
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