I saw within Its depth how It conceives_x000D_ _x000D_ All things in a single volume bound by Love_x000D_ _x000D_ of which the universe is the scattered leaves.
Dante AlighieriRead
The sad souls of those who lived without blame and without praise.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the emptiness of a life lived in mediocrity, devoid of both criticism and acclaim.
In this quote, Dante Alighieri reflects on the souls who have lived their lives in such a way that they evoked neither blame nor praise from others. This suggests a profound existential emptiness, where living without making a significant impact leaves one in a state of sadness, implying that a meaningful existence requires engagement, passion, and striving for values that could either earn respect or invite dissent.
Themes
LifeExistenceImpactMeaningPraiseBlame
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about finding purpose, you might use this quote to emphasize living fully.
More from Dante Alighieri
All quotes βBefore me things created were none, save things Eternal, and eternal I endure. All hope abandon, ye who enter here.
Dante AlighieriRead
The customs and fashions of men change like leaves on the bough, some of which go and others come.
Dante AlighieriRead
Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground.
Dante AlighieriRead
Pride, envy, avarice - these are the sparks have set on fire the hearts of all men.
Dante AlighieriRead
Thus you may understand that love alone is the true seed of every merit in you, and of all acts for which you must atone.
Dante AlighieriRead
Similar quotes
Consciousness permits us to develop the instruments of culture - morality and justice, religion, art, economics and politics, science and technology. Those instruments allow us some measure of freedom in the confrontation with nature.
Antonio DamasioRead
She was incomprehensible, for, in her, soul and spirit were one - the beauty of her body was the essence of her soul. She was that unity sought for by philosophers through many centuries. In this outdoor waiting room of winds and stars she had been sitting for a hundred years, at peace in the contemplation of herself.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
If nations perish, it is not because of their devotion to liberty, but for their disregard of its requirements.
William Lloyd GarrisonRead
In one case out of a hundred a point is excessively discussed because it is obscure; in the ninety-nine remaining it is obscure because it is excessively discussed.
Edgar Allan PoeRead
Industrial manβa sentient reciprocating engine having a fluctuating output, coupled to an iron wheel revolving with uniform velocity. And then we wonder why this should be the golden age of revolution and mental derangement.
Aldous HuxleyRead
The notion that Congress can change the meaning given a constitutional provision by the Court is subversive of the function of judicial review; and it is not the less so because the Court promises to allow it only when the Constitution is moved to the left.
Robert BorkRead