My poor life This shawl Frayed on strongboxes full of gold I roll along with Dream And smoke And the only flame in the universe
Blaise CendrarsRead
Science is history arranged according to the superstition and taste of the moment. The vocabulary of scholars has no wit, no salt. These heavy tomes have no soul, they are filled with distress.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques how scientific knowledge is influenced by contemporary beliefs and preferences, suggesting that academic works often lack vitality and emotional depth.
Blaise Cendrars expresses a poignant critique of the nature of scholarly works, arguing that the organization of scientific knowledge is not purely objective but rather colored by the prevailing superstitions and tastes of society. He suggests that the academic language used by scholars is dull and devoid of creativity, leading to texts that, while extensive and factual, fail to resonate emotionally with readers. Cendrars implies that true understanding and engagement with science should not only involve rigorous data but also an appreciation for the human experience and emotional depth that can be found within it.
Themes
ScienceCritiqueEmotionKnowledgeScholarship
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about the importance of humanities in education, this quote could illustrate the need for emotional depth in scientific discourse.
More from Blaise Cendrars
All quotes →Writing is to descend like a miner to the depths of the mine with a lamp on your forehead, a light whose dubious brightness falsifies everything, whose wick is in permanent danger of explosion, whose blinking illumination in the coal dust exhausts and corrodes your eyes.
Blaise CendrarsRead
Only a soul full of despair can ever attain serenity and, to be in despair, you must have loved a good deal and still love the world.
Blaise CendrarsRead
I'm not an extraordinary worker, I'm an extraordinary daydreamer. I exceed all my fantasies-even that of writing.
Blaise CendrarsRead
One's life, from being an exterior thing, grows inwards. Its intensity stays the same; and, d'you know, it's most mysterious, the corners in which the joy of living can sometimes hide away.
Blaise CendrarsRead
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