The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
What is love? There is nothing in the world, neither man nor Devil nor any thing, that I hold as suspect as love, for it penetrates the soul more than any other thing. Nothing exists that so fills and binds the heart as love does. Therefore, unless you have those weapons that subdue it, the soul plunges through love into an immense abyss.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love is a powerful and deep emotion that can profoundly impact the soul.
Umberto Eco's quote reflects on the complexity and intensity of love. He suggests that love interacts deeply with our being, highlighting its dual nature; while it can be beautiful and fulfilling, it also has the potential to lead to overwhelming emotions and vulnerabilities, likening it to a force that can either uplift or plunge one into despair.
Themes
LoveSoulEmotionDepthAbyss
In practice
Example use cases
In a romantic speech at a wedding, one might say, 'As Umberto Eco beautifully describes, love can penetrate the soul deeply.'
More from Umberto Eco
All quotes →I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early poetry, and bad poets publish it. Thankfully I gave up rather quickly.
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But why do some people support [the heretics]?" "Because it serves their purposes, which concern the faith rarely, and more often the conquest of power." "Is that why the church of Rome accuses all its adversaries of heresy?" "That is why, and that is also why it recognizes as orthodoxy any heresy it can bring back under its own control or must accept because the heresy has become too strong.
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You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
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"Then we are living in a place abandoned by God," I said, disheartened. "Have you found any places where God would have felt at home?" William asked me, looking down from his great height.
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The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
Umberto EcoRead
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