The dog is the only living being that has found and recognizes an indubitable, tangible and definite god. He knows to whom above him to give himself. He has not to seek for a superior and infinite power.
Maurice MaeterlinckRead
Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together ... Speech is too often ... the act of quite stifling and suspending thought, so that there is none to conceal ... Speech is of Time, silence is of Eternity ... It is idle to think that, by means of words, any real communication can ever pass from one man to another.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Silence fosters deeper understanding and creativity, while speech often distracts from true communication.
This quote emphasizes the power of silence as a space for contemplation and creativity, suggesting that true understanding and meaningful communication cannot be fully conveyed through words. Maeterlinck argues that while speech can interrupt thought and reflection, silence offers a timeless realm where profound ideas can develop and connect, highlighting the limitations of verbal communication in expressing the depths of human experience.
Themes
SilenceCommunicationThoughtCreativityPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a meditation retreat, this quote can be shared to highlight the importance of quiet contemplation.
More from Maurice Maeterlinck
All quotes →Remember that happiness is as contagious as gloom. It should be the first duty of those who are happy to let others know of their gladness.
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No living creature, not even man, has achieved, in the centre of his sphere, what the bee has achieved in her own: and were some one from another world to descend and ask of the earth the most perfect creation of the logic of life, we should needs have to offer the humble comb of honey.
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When we lose one we love, our bitterest tears are called forth by the memory of hours when we loved not enough.
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If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.
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As soon as we put something into words, we devalue it in a strange way. We think we have plunged into the depths of the abyss, and when we return to the surface the drop of water on our pale fingertips no longer resembles the sea from which it comes. We delude ourselves that we have discovered a wonderful treasure trove, and when we return to the light of day we find that we have brought back only false stones and shards of glass; and yet the treasure goes on glimmering in the dark, unaltered.
Maurice MaeterlinckRead
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