If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
I exist. It's sweet, so sweet, so slow. And light: you'd think it floated all by itself. It stirs. It brushes by me, melts and vanishes. Gently, gently. There is bubbling water in my mouth. I swallow. It slides down my throat, it caresses me β and now it comes up again into my mouth. For ever I shall have a little pool of whitish water in my mouth - lying low - grazing my tongue. And this pool is still me. And the tongue. And the throat is me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the essence of existence and the sensory experience of being alive, emphasizing the delicacy and transitory nature of life.
In this passage, Jean-Paul Sartre explores the profound nature of existence through vivid sensory imagery. He illustrates how the experience of being, represented by the sensations of taste and touch, is both ephemeral and connected to one's identity. The reflective narrative conveys the beauty and complexity of existence, where every sensation is a reminder of the self, yet also transient, as moments come and go, creating a delicate interplay between being and the inevitable passage of time.
Themes
ExistenceSensationIdentityPhilosophyTransience
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophical discussion about the nature of existence.
More from Jean-Paul Sartre
All quotes βAll I want is' - and he uttered the final words through clenched teeth and with a sort of shame - 'to retain my freedom.' I should myself have thought,' said Jacques, 'that freedom consisted in frankly confronting situations into which one had deliberately entered, and accepting all one's responsibilities. But that, no doubt, is not your view.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Similar quotes
Outside our consciousness there lies the cold and alien world of actual things. Between the two stretches the narrow borderland of the senses. No communication between the two worlds is possible excepting across the narrow strip. For a proper understanding of ourselves and of the world, it is of the highest importance that this borderland should be thoroughly explored.
Heinrich HertzRead
A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts.
Lucius Annaeus SenecaRead
Slowly light strengthens, and the room takes shape. It stands plain as a wardrobe, what we know, Have always known, know that we can't escape, Yet can't accept. One side will have to go. Meanwhile telephones crouch, getting ready to ring In locked-up offices, and all the uncaring Intricate rented world begins to rouse. The sky is white as clay, with no sun. Work has to be done. Postmen like doctors go from house to house.
Philip LarkinRead
Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not.
Isaiah BerlinRead
We can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come.
Milan KunderaRead
Sin is too stupid to see beyond itself.
Alfred Lord TennysonRead