When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that when faced with an overwhelming mystery, we often feel compelled to follow its call rather than resist it.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery's quote speaks to the powerful allure of the unknown. When confronted with something that evokes deep curiosity or awe, people may feel an irresistible urge to explore or comply with it, highlighting the tension between individual agency and the magnetic pull of the mysterious. This idea can apply to various aspects of life, where the mysteries of existence, emotions, or experiences command attention and respect, ultimately guiding one's choices and actions.
In practice
During a philosophy class discussion on the nature of existence, I referenced this quote to illustrate why we pursue deeper understanding.
Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? " Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? " Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
Attitude is a paintbrush. It colors everything!
Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.
In those days, I didn't understand anything. I should have judged her according to her actions, not her words. She perfumed my planet and lit up my life. I should never have run away! I ought to have realized the tenderness underlying her silly pretensions. Flowers are so contadictory! But I was too young to know how to love her.
When the body sinks into death, the essence of man is revealed. Man is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied. Only those relationships matter. The body is an old crock that nobody will miss. I have never known a man to think of himself when dying. Never.
Man is a knot into which relationships are tied.
Were we incapable of empathy β of putting ourselves in the position of others and seeing that their suffering is like our own β then ethical reasoning would lead nowhere. If emotion without reason is blind, then reason without emotion is impotent.
The very purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others. Rather, we must criticize ourselves. How much am I doing about my anger? About my attachment, about my hatred, about my pride, my jealousy? These are the things which we must check in daily life.
Health care is a design problem. Dependence on foreign oil is a design problem. To some extent, poverty is a design problem. We need design thinkers to solve those problems, and most people who are in positions of political power are not design thinkers, to put it mildly.
However much you feed a wolf, it always looks to the forest. We are all wolves of the dense forest of Eternity.
Do you suppose that it is within your power to insult me? You evidently are not aware to whom you are speaking? Do you imagine that the envenomed spittle of five hundred little gentlemen of your type, heaped one upon another, would succeed in slobbering so much as the tips of my august toes?
I don't think tragic situations are necessarily devoid of beauty.
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