That which is not slightly distorted lacks sensible appeal; from which it follows that irregularity β that is to say, the unexpected, surprise and astonishment, are a essential part and characteristic of beauty.
Charles BaudelaireRead
As a small child, I felt in my heart two contradictory feelings, the horror of life and the ecstasy of life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life encompasses both joy and suffering, highlighting its contradictory nature.
In this quote, Charles Baudelaire reflects on the duality of human experience, suggesting that as a child, he was acutely aware of both the beauty and the terror that life offers. This understanding illustrates how joy and suffering coexist, shaping one's perception of the world and emphasizing the complexity of existence.
Themes
LifeContradictionHorrorEcstasyHuman Experience
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about embracing life's ups and downs.
More from Charles Baudelaire
All quotes βThe dance can reveal everything mysterious that is hidden in music, and it has the additional merit of being human and palpable. Dancing is poetry with arms and legs.
Charles BaudelaireRead
Who among us has not dreamt, in moments of ambition, of the miracle of a poetic prose, musical without rhythm and rhyme, supple and staccato enough to adapt to the lyrical stirrings of the soul, the undulations of dreams, and sudden leaps of consciousness.
Charles BaudelaireRead
There is no sweeter pleasure than to surprise a man by giving him more than he hopes for.
Charles BaudelaireRead
The priest is an immense being because he makes the crowd believe astonishing things.
Charles BaudelaireRead
I consider it useless and tedious to represent what exists, because nothing that exists satisfies me. Nature is ugly, and I prefer the monsters of my fancy to what is positively trivial.
Charles BaudelaireRead
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The volatile truth of our words should continually betray the inadequacy of the residual statement.
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This is one of the most effective adaptations of racism over time - that we can think of racism as only something that individuals either are or are not 'doing.'
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For a year after that was done to me I wept every day at the same hour and for the same space of time. That is not such a tragic thing as possibly it sounds to you. To those who are in prison tears are a part of every day's experience. A day in prison on which one does not weep is a day on which one's heart is hard, not a day on which one's heart is happy.
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The greatest gift that God in His bounty made in creation, and the most conformable to His goodness, and that which He prizes the most, was the freedom of will, with which the creatures with intelligence, they all and they alone, were and are endowed.
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It is better to put on the brakes sooner, for some fine day you begin to understand β to pardon everything β and then where is the charm of life, if you cannot love or hate any more?
Arthur SchnitzlerRead