"I have no right to call myself one who knows. I was one who seeks, and I still am, but I no longer seek in the stars or in books; I'm beginning to hear the teachings of my blood pulsing within me. My story isn't pleasant, it's not sweet and harmonious like the invented stories; it tastes of folly and bewilderment, of madness and dream, like the life of all people who no longer want to lie to themselves."
"There is truth, my boy. But the doctrine you desire, absolute, perfect dogma that alone provides wisdom, does not exist. Nor should you long for a perfect doctrine, my friend. Rather, you should long for the perfection of yourself. The deity is within you, not in ideas and books. Truth is lived, not taught."
13 likes
Source: Hermann Hesse (2002). “The Glass Bead Game: (Magister Ludi) A Novel”, p.83, Macmillan
About the author
Same author
More quotes by Hermann Hesse
"To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile without hostility at people and institutions, to compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters; to be more faithful in our work, to show greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism: all these are things we can do."
"Within you there is a stillness and sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself"
"I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value."
"If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us."
"Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go."