--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are... otherwise quite decent…" description: "\"“There are... otherwise quite decent people who are so dull of nature that they believe that they must attribute the swift flight of fancy to some illn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_decent-people_there-are-otherwise-quite-decent-people_2913974.jpg" --- # There are... otherwise quite decent people who are so dull… ![“There are... otherwise quite decent people who are so dull of nature that they believe that they must attribute the swift flight of fancy to some illness of the psyche, and thus it happens that this or that writer is said to create not other than while imbibing intoxicating drink or that his…” quote by E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_decent-people_there-are-otherwise-quite-decent-people_2913974.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_decent-people_there-are-otherwise-quite-decent-people_2913974.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9c/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_decent-people_there-are-otherwise-quite-decent-people_2913974.jpg) > ““There are... otherwise quite decent people who are so dull of nature that they believe that they must attribute the swift flight of fancy to some illness of the psyche, and thus it happens that this or that writer is said to create not other than while imbibing intoxicating drink or that his fantasies are the result of overexcited nerves and resulting fever. But who can fail to know that, while a state of psychical excitement caused by the one or other stimulant may indeed generate some lucky and brilliant ideas, it can never produce a well-founded, substantial work of art that requires the utmost presence of mind.”” [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. Creative bursts from stimulants lack depth; true art needs disciplined focus. **In simple terms:** Stimulants spark ideas, but discipline shapes them. Key Takeaway Cultivate disciplined focus for lasting work. Themes creativity discipline artistic integrity Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - painting - musical composition - scientific research Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance inspiration with discipline? - What practices help maintain focus? A Different Perspective Stimulants may cause fleeting brilliance but not sustained quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Fantastique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastique/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Presence of mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Supernatural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supernatural/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Fantastic literature has been especially prominent in times of unrest, when the older values have been overthrown to make way for the new; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rottensteiner/fantastic-literature-has-been-especially-prominent-in-times-of-unrest/) [Franz Rottensteiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rottensteiner/) > [“Henry,' at last said one, again dipping the spoon into the flaming spirit, 'hast thou read Hoffman?' 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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. 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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/) [Explore all 11 E.T.A. Hoffmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/) ## More Decent people quotes > [I guess the only thing to do now is meet his parents. I'm sure they're decent people. I mean they gotta be if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/i-guess-the-only-thing-to-do-now-is-meet-his-parents-i-m-sure-they-re/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) > [“Experience often repeated, truly bitter experience, had taught him long ago that with decent people, especially Moscow people -- always slow to move and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/experience-often-repeated-truly-bitter-experience-had-taught-him-long/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“You may of course ask whether we really need to refer to "saints". Wouldn't it suffice just to refer to decent people? 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Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [I have a treasure trove of Baker memories, all of which reinforce my sense of Howard Baker as one of the most decent people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yarmuth/i-have-a-treasure-trove-of-baker-memories-all-of-which-reinforce-my/) [John Yarmuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yarmuth/) > [Certain types of loudmouthism should be a capital offense among decent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/certain-types-of-loudmouthism-should-be-a-capital-offense-among/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ineos is a friendly organisation. Very few people leave. It's collegiate. There's not much politics, and we like decent people. We don't like arrogance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ratcliffe/ineos-is-a-friendly-organisation-very-few-people-leave-it-s/) [Jim Ratcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ratcliffe/) > [Don't try to be fancy. 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'And they don't know \*you\*, either,' Lady Danbury quite pointedly replied ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/they-just-don-t-know-you-penelope-said-patting-her-on-the-hand-and/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [Religious factions will go on imposing their will on others unless the decent people connected to them recognize that religion has no place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/religious-factions-will-go-on-imposing-their-will-on-others-unless/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [ I explain how America hatred and Jew hatred are \[INDEMIC\] to Modern Liberalism and delve deeper into why it is the otherwise good and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-sayet/i-explain-how-america-hatred-and-jew-hatred-are-indemic-to-modern/) [Evan Sayet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-sayet/) > [When someone puts you down and treats you badly, just remember that there is something wrong with them, not you. 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Decency is rare and underrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/most-of-my-heroes-are-just-decent-people-decency-is-rare-and/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“No respecter of evidence has ever found the least clue as to what life is all about, and what people should do with it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/no-respecter-of-evidence-has-ever-found-the-least-clue-as-to-what/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) Browse all 156 Decent people quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There are... otherwise quite decent people who are so dull of nature that they believe that they must attribute the swift flight of fancy to some illness of the psyche, and thus it happens that this or that writer is said to create not other than while imbibing intoxicating drink or that his fantasies are the result of overexcited nerves and resulting fever. 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