---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It may be, after all,\" said the Student…"
description: "\"“It may be, after all,\" said the Student Anselmus to himself, \"that the superfine stomachic liqueur, which I took somewhat freely in Monsieur Conradi's..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_humor_it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-ans_1143272.jpg"
---

#  It may be, after all," said the Student Anselmus to…

![“It may be, after all,&quot; said the Student Anselmus to himself, &quot;that the superfine stomachic liqueur, which I took somewhat freely in Monsieur Conradi's, might really be the cause of all these shocking phantasms, which tortured me so at Archivarius Lindhorst's door.” quote by E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_humor_it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-ans_1143272.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_humor_it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-ans_1143272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_humor_it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-ans_1143272.jpg)

> ““It may be, after all," said the Student Anselmus to himself, "that the superfine stomachic liqueur, which I took somewhat freely in Monsieur Conradi's, might really be the cause of all these shocking phantasms, which tortured me so at Archivarius Lindhorst's door.””

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The narrator suspects his vivid hallucinations stem from drinking a potent alcoholic concoction.

**In simple terms:** He thinks the drink caused his strange visions.

Key Takeaway

Consider how substances affect perception.

Themes

perception hallucination self‑reflection

Mood

conflicted curious

Type

literary reflective

When to use this quote

- nighttime study
- social drinking
- creative writing
- medical diagnosis

Key Concepts

psychology addiction literary symbolism

Questions to Reflect On

- What role does imagination play in interpreting physical effects?
- Could the narrator be unreliable?

A Different Perspective

The cause may be psychological, not just chemical.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/)

## Related quotes

> ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/)

[Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/)

> [I love being my silly ole self! Lifes a lot better when you have a good sense of humor and you smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-being-my-silly-ole-self-lifes-a-lot-better-when-you-have-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's a difference between delivering real funny and just silly funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-rel-howery/there-s-a-difference-between-delivering-real-funny-and-just-silly/)

[Lil Rel Howery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-rel-howery/)

> [“ “Do Southerners laugh at different things than Northerners do? Yes, I say--Northerners.” Roy Blount, Jr., Roy Blount’s Book of Southern Humor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/do-southerners-laugh-at-different-things-than-northerners-do-yes-i/)

[Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/)

> [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/)

TimBur

> [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/)

[Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/)

> [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/)

[Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/)

> [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/)

[Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/)

> [“Not wise, perhaps, to be rude to the Pope's favorite son, but my viper tongue still required a fool now and then on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-quinn/not-wise-perhaps-to-be-rude-to-the-pope-s-favorite-son-but-my-viper/)

[Kate Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-quinn/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [“...I haven't guessed where your shirt is from yet Bane, but I don't think it'll matter once it's underwater!' Tristan looked at Bane questioningly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-k-munt/i-haven-t-guessed-where-your-shirt-is-from-yet-bane-but-i-don-t-think/)

S.K. Munt

> [In my opinion, sexiness comes down to three things: chemistry, sense of humor, and treatment of waitstaff at restaurants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-janzen/in-my-opinion-sexiness-comes-down-to-three-things-chemistry-sense-of/)

[Rhoda Janzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-janzen/)

> [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/)

[Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/)

[Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/)

## More by E.T.A. Hoffmann

> [“Perchance, dear reader, you will then believe that nothing is stranger and madder than actual life, and that this is all that the poet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/perchance-dear-reader-you-will-then-believe-that-nothing-is-stranger/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“So true it is, that even the shortest step out of the immediate circle of one's best friends, is equal, in effect, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/so-true-it-is-that-even-the-shortest-step-out-of-the-immediate-circle/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“With the confidence and peace of mind native to true genius, I lay my life story before the world, so that the reader may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/with-the-confidence-and-peace-of-mind-native-to-true-genius-i-lay-my/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“We believed in another world, but we admitted the feebleness of our senses. Then came 'enlightenment,' and made everything so very clear and enlightened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/we-believed-in-another-world-but-we-admitted-the-feebleness-of-our/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“But if, like a bold painter, you had first sketched in a few audacious strokes the outline of the picture you had in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/but-if-like-a-bold-painter-you-had-first-sketched-in-a-few-audacious/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“None but a poet can understand a poet; none but a romantic spirit transported with poetry and consecrated in the Holy of Holies an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/none-but-a-poet-can-understand-a-poet-none-but-a-romantic-spirit/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“If there is a dark and hostile power, laying its treacherous toils within us, by which it holds us fast and draws us along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/if-there-is-a-dark-and-hostile-power-laying-its-treacherous-toils/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“She was not too tall, and of a voluptuous build, so that my eyes wandered amid many charms that hitherto had been strangers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/she-was-not-too-tall-and-of-a-voluptuous-build-so-that-my-eyes/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“Perhaps, too, you will then believe that nothing is more wonderful, nothing more fantastic than real life, and that all that a writer can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/perhaps-too-you-will-then-believe-that-nothing-is-more-wonderful/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

> [“There are... otherwise quite decent people who are so dull of nature that they believe that they must attribute the swift flight of fancy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/there-are-otherwise-quite-decent-people-who-are-so-dull-of-nature/)

[E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

[Explore all 11 E.T.A. Hoffmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/)

## More Humor quotes

> ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/)

[Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/)

> [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/)

[Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/)

> [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/)

[Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/)

> [In my opinion, sexiness comes down to three things: chemistry, sense of humor, and treatment of waitstaff at restaurants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-janzen/in-my-opinion-sexiness-comes-down-to-three-things-chemistry-sense-of/)

[Rhoda Janzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-janzen/)

> [“...I haven't guessed where your shirt is from yet Bane, but I don't think it'll matter once it's underwater!' Tristan looked at Bane questioningly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-k-munt/i-haven-t-guessed-where-your-shirt-is-from-yet-bane-but-i-don-t-think/)

S.K. Munt

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [“Not wise, perhaps, to be rude to the Pope's favorite son, but my viper tongue still required a fool now and then on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-quinn/not-wise-perhaps-to-be-rude-to-the-pope-s-favorite-son-but-my-viper/)

[Kate Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-quinn/)

> [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/)

[Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/)

> [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/)

[Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/)

> [If you were to send a werewolf to the moon, would he be a werewolf permanently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-schaal/if-you-were-to-send-a-werewolf-to-the-moon-would-he-be-a-werewolf/)

[Kristen Schaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-schaal/)

> [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/)

TimBur

> [“ “Do Southerners laugh at different things than Northerners do? Yes, I say--Northerners.” Roy Blount, Jr., Roy Blount’s Book of Southern Humor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/do-southerners-laugh-at-different-things-than-northerners-do-yes-i/)

[Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/)

> [There's a difference between delivering real funny and just silly funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-rel-howery/there-s-a-difference-between-delivering-real-funny-and-just-silly/)

[Lil Rel Howery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-rel-howery/)

> [I love being my silly ole self! Lifes a lot better when you have a good sense of humor and you smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-being-my-silly-ole-self-lifes-a-lot-better-when-you-have-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/)

[Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/)

[Browse all 33,155 Humor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It may be, after all,\" said the Student Anselmus to himself, \"that the superfine stomachic liqueur, which I took somewhat freely in Monsieur Conradi's, might really be the cause of all these shocking phantasms, which tortured me so at Archivarius Lindhorst's door.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "E.T.A. Hoffmann"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-anselmus-to-himself-that-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Humor"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-anselmus-to-himself-that-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_humor_it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-ans_1143272.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_humor_it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-ans_1143272.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_humor_it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-ans_1143272.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It may be, after all,\" said the Student Anselmus to himself, \"that the superfine stomachic liqueur, which I…” — E.T.A. Hoffmann",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "E.T.A. Hoffmann",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It may be, after all,\" said...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-anselmus-to-himself-that-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-anselmus-to-himself-that-the/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
