Living substance conquers the frenzy of destruction only in the ecstasy of procreation.
Walter BenjaminRead
Opinions are a private matter. The public has an interest only in judgments.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Opinions are personal and subjective, while judgments are what society values and discusses.
Walter Benjamin emphasizes the distinction between personal opinions, which are generally private and subjective, and public judgments, which carry societal significance. The quote suggests that while everyone is entitled to their opinions, what really matters in the public sphere is the collective judgment made from those opinions, as this reflects broader societal consensus and values.
Themes
OpinionsJudgmentsPublicPrivateSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate, one might quote this to distinguish personal beliefs from societal standards.
More from Walter Benjamin
All quotes →The illiterate of the future will not be the man who cannot read the alphabet, but the one who cannot take a photograph.
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If mythic violence is lawmaking, divine violence is law-destroying; if the former sets boundaries, the latter boundlessly destroys them; if mythic violence brings at once guilt and retribution, divine power only expiates; if the former threatens, the latter strikes; if the former is bloody, the latter is lethal without spilling blood
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Writers are really people who write books not because they are poor, but because they are dissatisfied with the books which they could buy but do not like.
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Nothing is poorer than a truth expressed as it was thought. Committed to writing in such cases, it is not even a bad photograph. Truth wants to be startled abruptly, at one stroke, from her self-immersion, whether by uproar, music or cries for help.
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I am unpacking my library. Yes I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order.
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I do earnestly wish to see the distinction of sex confounded in society, unless where love animates the behaviour.
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