QuoteProject
We lead two lives, and the half of our soul is madness, and half heaven is lit by a black sun. I say I am a man, is the other that hides in me?
Arthur Machen
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects the duality of human nature, balancing between madness and enlightenment.

Arthur Machen's quote explores the complexity of human existence, suggesting that every individual embodies two contrasting aspects: one that is chaotic or 'mad' and another that is illuminated or 'heavenly'. It prompts reflection on the inner struggles and dichotomous nature of humanity, where individuals may grapple with their darker impulses while also aspiring to higher ideals.

Themes

DualityMadnessHeavenSoulHuman Nature

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about mental health or existentialism, this quote could illustrate the struggle between sanity and madness.

More from Arthur Machen

It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.
Arthur MachenRead
Every branch of human knowledge, if traced up to its source and final principles, vanishes into mystery.
Arthur MachenRead
There are sacraments of evil as well as of good about us, and we live and move to my belief in an unknown world, a place where there are caves and shadows and dwellers in twilight. It is possible that man may sometimes return on the track of evolution, and it is my belief that an awful lore is not yet dead.
Arthur MachenRead
And there were other rocks that were like animals, creeping, horrible animals, putting out their tongues, and others were like words I could not say, and others like dead people lying on the grass. I went on among them, though they frightened me, and my heart was full of wicked song they put into it; and I wanted to make faces and twist myself about the way they did, and I went on and on a long way till at last I liked the rocks and they didn’t frighten me any more
Arthur MachenRead

Similar quotes

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Man is now able to soar into outer space and reach up to the moon; but he is not moral enough to live at peace with his neighbor!
Sathya Sai BabaRead
Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow it whithersoever that shall go, and are of their nature divine and immortal.
William Makepeace ThackerayRead
They're animals, all right. But why are you so goddam sure that makes us human beings?
Stephen KingRead
Much of what ails our modern life is exactly because we reduce the value of a human being to a number, say salary or consumer power.
Zeynep TufekciRead
The human being is an unequal creature. That is a fact. And we start off with the proposition. All the great religions, all the great movements, all the great political ideology, say let us make the human being as equal as possible. In fact, he is not equal, never will be.
Lee Kuan YewRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.