No tribal rite has yet been recorded which attempts to keep winter from descending; on the contrary: the rites all prepare the community to endure, together with the rest of nature, the season of the terrible cold.
Joseph CampbellRead
Sit in a room and read--and read and read. And read the right books by the right people. Your mind is brought onto that level, and you have a nice, mild, slow-burning rapture all the time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Reading the right books elevates your mind and spirit.
Joseph Campbell emphasizes the transformative power of reading, suggesting that immersing oneself in literature authored by wise and insightful individuals can lead to a profound uplift in one's mindset and overall emotional state. This slow-burning rapture is the result of continuous learning and exposure to new ideas, fostering both intellectual and personal growth.
Themes
ReadingBooksKnowledgeWisdomGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of lifelong learning, this quote serves as a powerful reminder.
More from Joseph Campbell
All quotes →Half the people in the world think that the metaphors of their religious traditions, for example, are facts. And the other half contends that they are not facts at all. As a result we have people who consider themselves believers because they accept metaphors as facts, and we have others who classify themselves as atheists because they think religious metaphors are lies.
Joseph CampbellRead
Christianity isn’t moving people’s lives today. What’s moving people’s lives is the stock market and the baseball scores. What are people excited about? It’s a totally materialistic level that has taken over the world. There isn’t even an ideal that anybody’s fighting for.
Joseph CampbellRead
Apocalypse does not point to a fiery Armageddon but to the fact that our ignorance and our complacency are coming to an end. The exclusivism of there being only one way in which we can be saved, the idea that there is a single religious group that is in sole possession of the truth—that is the world as we know it that must pass away. What is the kingdom? It lies in our realization of the ubiquity of the divine presence in our neighbors, in our enemies, in all of us.
Joseph CampbellRead
The demon that you can swallow gives you it’s power, and the greater life’s pain, the greater life’s reply.
Joseph CampbellRead
And if there was no Fall, what then of the need for Redemption? What god was offended and by whom? Some especially touchy cave bear whose skull had been improperly enshrined?
Joseph CampbellRead
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In books I have traveled, not only to other worlds, but into my own.
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Don’t worry about achieving. Don’t worry about perfection. Just be there each moment as best you can.
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But curb thou the high spirit in thy breast, for gentle ways are best, and keep aloof from sharp contentions.
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The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life - knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live.
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The richest people in the world aren't particularly smart or happy. And the happiest people in the world aren't particularly smart or rich.… That leaves me making music. But we can't talk about that.
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You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.
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