Humor distorts nothing, and only false gods are laughed off their earthly pedestals.
Agnes RepplierRead
People who cannot recognize a palpable absurdity are very much in the way of civilization.
Interpretation
Recognizing absurdities is crucial for progress in society.
Agnes Repplier's quote highlights the importance of acknowledging absurdities in life for the betterment of civilization. Those who fail to see the ridiculousness in certain situations or beliefs can hinder societal growth and critical thinking, suggesting that a confrontation with absurdity can lead to a more enlightened and progressive society.
In practice
In a speech about social change, quoting Repplier can emphasize the need for awareness of absurdities in outdated systems.
Humor distorts nothing, and only false gods are laughed off their earthly pedestals.
It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.
Who that has plodded on to middle age would take back upon his shoulders ten of the vanished years, with their mingled pleasures and pains? Who would return to the youth he is forever pretending to regret?
Indifference is the dead weight of history.
In some departments of our daily life, in which we imagine ourselves free agents, we are ruled by dictators exercising great power.
I suppose it's a very highly developed form of denial, but some part of me completely denies that I'm a performer.
Ask him why there are hypocrites in the world.' 'Because it is hard to bear the happiness of others.' 'When are we happy?' 'When we desire nothing and realize that possession is only momentary, and so are forever playing.' 'What is regret?' 'To realize that one has spent one's life worrying about the future.' 'What is sorrow?' 'To long for the past.' 'What is the highest pleasure?' 'To hear a good story.
The ideal of the supreme being is nothing but a regulative principle of reason which directs us to look upon all connection in the world as if it originated from an all-sufficient necessary cause.
Go within. Use the inner body as a starting point for going deeper and taking your attention away from where it's usually lodged, in the thinking mind.
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