Love must not entreat,' she added, 'or demand. Love must have the strength to become certain within itself. Then it ceases merely to be attracted and begins to attract. Hermann Hesse More Quotes by Hermann Hesse More Quotes From Hermann Hesse He had thought more than other men, and in matters of the intellect he had that calm objectivity, that certainty of thought and knowledge, such as only really intellectual men have, who have no axe to grind, who never wish to shine, or to talk others down, or to appear always in the right. Hermann Hesse objectivityshiningmen Each of us is merely one human being, merely an experiment, a way station. But each of us should be on the way toward perfection, should be striving to reach the center, not the periphery. Hermann Hesse striveperfectionway Look: We hate nothing that exists, not even death, suffering and dying, does not horrify our souls, as long as we learn more deeply to love. Hermann Hesse hatesoullong Only within yourself exists that other reality for which you long. Hermann Hesse longreality You must find your dream...but no dream lasts forever, each dream is followed by another, and one should not cling to any particular dream. Hermann Hesse lastsdreamforever Human life is reduced to real suffering, to hell, only when two ages, two cultures and religions overlap. Hermann Hesse realsufferingtwo Every sin already carries grace within in, all small children are potential old men, all sucklings have death within them, all dying people - eternal life. The Buddha exists in the robber and dice player; the robber exists in the Brahmin. Hermann Hesse playermenchildren Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke. Hermann Hesse momentseternitylong Rain Soft rain, summer rain Whispers from bushes, whispers from trees. Oh, how lovely and full of blessing To dream and be satisfied. I was so long in the outer brightness, I am not used to this upheaval: Being at home in my own soul, Never to be led elsewhere. I want nothing, I long for nothing, I hum gently the sounds of childhood, And I reach home astounded In the warm beauty of dreams. Heart, how torn you are, How blessed to plow down blindly, To think nothing, to know nothing, Only to breathe, only to feel. Hermann Hesse blessedsummerdream That is why we were drawn to one another and why we are brother and sister. I am going to teach you to dance and play and smile, and still not be happy. And you are going to teach me to think and to know and yet not be happy. Do you know that we are both children of the Devil? Hermann Hesse brotherchildrenthinking I shall no longer be instructed by the Yoga Veda or the Aharva Veda, or the ascetics, or any other doctrine whatsoever. I shall learn from myself, be a pupil of myself; I shall get to know myself, the mystery of Siddhartha." He looked around as if he were seeing the world for the first time. Hermann Hesse siddharthayogawisdom My resolve to die was not the whim of an hour. It was the ripe, sound fruit that had slowly grown to full size, lightly rocked by the winds of fate whose next breath would bring it to the ground. Hermann Hesse fatesoundwind He has robbed me, yet he has given me something of greater value . . . he has given to me myself. Hermann Hesse siddharthagivengreater Most people...are like a falling leaf that drifts and turns in the air, flutters, and falls to the ground. But a few others are like stars which travel one defined path: no wind reaches them, they have within themselves their guide and path. Hermann Hesse starsrunningfall So you can't dance? Not at all? Not even one step? How can you say that you've taken any trouble to live when you won't even dance? Hermann Hesse dancingdancetaken It is good to taste for yourself everything you need to know. That worldly pleasures and wealth are not good things, I learned even as a child. I knew it for a long time, but only now have I experienced it. Hermann Hesse eyeheartchildren Man designs for himself a garden with a hundred kinds of trees, a thousand kinds of flowers, a hundred kinds of fruit and vegetables. Suppose, then, that the gardener of this garden knew no other distinction between edible and inedible, nine-tenths of this garden would be useless to him. He would pull up the most enchanting flowers and hew down the noblest trees and even regard them with a loathing and envious eye. This is what the Steppenwolf does with the thousand flowers of his soul. What does not stand classified as either man or wolf he does not see at all. Hermann Hesse flowereyemen I cannot tell my story without reaching a long way back. Hermann Hesse storieslongway My goal is this: always to put myself in the place in which I am best able to serve, wherever my gifts and qualities find the best soil to grow, the widest field of action. There is no other goal. Hermann Hesse qualityablegoal No, a true seeker, one who truly wished to find, could accept no doctrine. But the man who has found what he sought, such a man could approve of every doctrine, each and every one, every path, every goal; nothing separated him any longer from all those thousands of others who lived in the eternal, who breathed the Divine. Hermann Hesse siddharthagoalmen
