“Analysis can be a very unappetizing affair, as much so as death.”

—  Thomas Mann , book The Magic Mountain

Source: The Magic Mountain (1924), Ch. 5
Context: Analysis as an instrument of enlightenment and civilization is good, in so far as it shatters absurd convictions, acts as a solvent upon natural prejudices, and undermines authority; good, in other words, in that it sets free, refines, humanizes, makes slaves ripe for freedom. But it is bad, very bad, in so far as it stands in the way of action, cannot shape the vital forces, maims life at its roots. Analysis can be a very unappetizing affair, as much so as death.

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Thomas Mann 159
German novelist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate 1875–1955

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