--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We believed in another world, but we…" description: "\"“We believed in another world, but we admitted the feebleness of our senses. Then came 'enlightenment,' and made everything so very clear and enlighten..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_another-world_we-believed-in-another-world-but-we-admi_611825.jpg" --- # We believed in another world, but we admitted the… ![“We believed in another world, but we admitted the feebleness of our senses. Then came 'enlightenment,' and made everything so very clear and enlightened, that we can see nothing for excess of light, and go banging our noses against the first tree we come to in the wood. We insist, now-a-days, on…” quote by E.T.A. Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_another-world_we-believed-in-another-world-but-we-admi_611825.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_another-world_we-believed-in-another-world-but-we-admi_611825.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf3/e-t-a-hoffmann-2-31616_another-world_we-believed-in-another-world-but-we-admi_611825.jpg) > ““We believed in another world, but we admitted the feebleness of our senses. Then came 'enlightenment,' and made everything so very clear and enlightened, that we can see nothing for excess of light, and go banging our noses against the first tree we come to in the wood. We insist, now-a-days, on grasping the other world with stretched-out arms of flesh and bone.”” [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 quest for a perfect, enlightened reality blinds us, causing us to stumble over simple truths. **In simple terms:** Seeking absolute clarity can make us miss what is obvious. Key Takeaway Beware of over‑intellectualizing; stay grounded. Themes philosophy perception human nature Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Every decision - spiritual practice - creative work - education - personal growth Key Concepts Epistemology illusion mundanity Questions to Reflect On - How does your pursuit of clarity affect everyday life? - What simple truths are you overlooking? A Different Perspective Excessive abstraction can detach us from practical reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism/) [Modernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernity/) ## Related quotes > [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. 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The term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-bourriaud/altermodern-is-an-in-progress-redefinition-of-modernity-in-the-era-of/) Nicolas Bourriaud > [One of those blocks (that prevent the 'Middle East from entering the mainstream of modernity') is the orthodox tenet that the Koran and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-beichman/one-of-those-blocks-that-prevent-the-middle-east-from-entering-the/) [Arnold Beichman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-beichman/) > [“Indeed, the idea that doubt can be heroic, if it is locked into a structure as grand as that of the paintings of Cezanne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/indeed-the-idea-that-doubt-can-be-heroic-if-it-is-locked-into-a/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) ## 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/) > [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-t-a-hoffmann-2/it-may-be-after-all-said-the-student-anselmus-to-himself-that-the/) [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. 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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 Another world quotes > [I identify with Superman. I am adopted, I am an only child, and I love the idea that he comes from another world, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-singer/i-identify-with-superman-i-am-adopted-i-am-an-only-child-and-i-love/) [Bryan Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-singer/) > [Every time you touch me I stop breathing, that's why I never have much to say. 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Save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-ansell/one-late-autumn-day-i-opened-the-back-door-to-fetch-some-water-and/) Neil Ansell [Browse all 707 Another world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We believed in another world, but we admitted the feebleness of our senses. Then came 'enlightenment,' and made everything so very clear and enlightened, that we can see nothing for excess of light, and go banging our noses against the first tree we come to in the wood. We insist, now-a-days, on grasping the other world with stretched-out arms of flesh and bone.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E.T.A. 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