Quotes from book
Narcissus and Goldmund

Name: Narcissus and Goldmund
Author: Hermann Hesse

Hermann HesseOriginal title Narziß und Goldmund (German, 1930)

Narcissus and Goldmund is a novel written by the German–Swiss author Hermann Hesse which was first published in 1930. At its publication, Narcissus and Goldmund was considered Hesse's literary triumph; chronologically, it follows Steppenwolf.

“If I know what love is, it is because of you.”

Hermann Hesse book Narcissus and Goldmund

Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

“It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is: each the other's opposite and complement.”

Hermann Hesse book Narcissus and Goldmund

Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

“How mysterious this life was, how deep and muddy its waters ran, yet how clear and noble what emerged from them.”

Hermann Hesse book Narcissus and Goldmund

Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

“One thing, however, did become clear to him [Goldmund] – why so many perfect works of art did not please him at all, why they were almost hateful and boring to him, in spite of a certain undeniable beauty. Workshops, churches, and palaces were full of these fatal works of art; he had even helped with a few himself. They were deeply disappointing because they aroused the desire for the highest and did not fulfill it. They lacked the most essential thing – mystery. That was what dreams and truly great works of art had in common: mystery.”

Hermann Hesse book Narcissus and Goldmund

Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

“Without a mother, one cannot love. Without a mother, one cannot die.”

Hermann Hesse book Narcissus and Goldmund

Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

“All existence seemed to be based on duality, on contrast. Either one was a man or one was a woman, either a wanderer or sedentary burgher, either a thinking person or a feeling person-no one could breathe in at the same time as he breathed out, be a man as well as a woman, experience freedom as well as order, combine instinct and mind. One always had to pay for one with the loss of the other, and one thing was always just as important and desirable as the other.”

Hermann Hesse book Narcissus and Goldmund

Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)

“When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something that lasts longer than we do.”

Hermann Hesse book Narcissus and Goldmund

Narcissus and Goldmund (1930)
Context: We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something that lasts longer than we do.