--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At times I see them as if I were walking…" description: "\"“At times I see them as if I were walking through the streets of Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius. This is one of the historian's delights and, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/ernst-junger-4532_history_at-times-i-see-them-as-if-i-were-walking_405635.jpg" --- # At times I see them as if I were walking through the… ![“At times I see them as if I were walking through the streets of Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius. This is one of the historian's delights and, even more, his sorrow. If we see someone doing something for the last time, even just eating a piece of bread, this activity becomes wondrously…” quote by Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/ernst-junger-4532_history_at-times-i-see-them-as-if-i-were-walking_405635.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/ernst-junger-4532_history_at-times-i-see-them-as-if-i-were-walking_405635.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/830/ernst-junger-4532_history_at-times-i-see-them-as-if-i-were-walking_405635.jpg) > ““At times I see them as if I were walking through the streets of Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius. This is one of the historian's delights and, even more, his sorrow. If we see someone doing something for the last time, even just eating a piece of bread, this activity becomes wondrously profound. We participate in the transmutation of the ephemeral into the sacramental. We have inklings of eras during which such a sight was an everyday occurrence.”” [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing ordinary moments can reveal deep, timeless significance, turning everyday acts into sacred experiences. **In simple terms:** Everyday acts can become profound. Key Takeaway Notice the sacred in daily life. Themes mindfulness history transcendence observation Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - travel - museum visits - daily routines - rituals Key Concepts ephemerality sacrality historical consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How can you train yourself to see depth in routine? - What ordinary act feels most sacred to you? A Different Perspective Not everyone perceives ordinary moments as profound. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ephemeral Sacramental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ephemeral-sacramental-3627453/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Last time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-time/) [Pompeii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pompeii/) [Streets Pompeii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets-pompeii-3627455/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Transmutation Ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transmutation-ephemeral-3627456/) [Vesuvius Historian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vesuvius-historian-3627454/) ## Related quotes > ['Pompeii' will be PG-13. I think it has to have a level of violence and death in it because you've got a volcano exploding.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-w-s-anderson/pompeii-will-be-pg-13-i-think-it-has-to-have-a-level-of-violence-and/) [Paul W. S. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-w-s-anderson/) > [What I like so much about Corot is that he can say everything with a bit of tree; and it was Corot himself that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/what-i-like-so-much-about-corot-is-that-he-can-say-everything-with-a/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [That a thing made by hand, the work and thought of a single craftsman, can endure much longer than its maker, through centuries in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/that-a-thing-made-by-hand-the-work-and-thought-of-a-single-craftsman/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [Pompeii, especially, with its grand murals and its flourishing gardens haunted by the dark shadow of Vesuvius, has always suggested uncomfortable parallels with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-antin/pompeii-especially-with-its-grand-murals-and-its-flourishing-gardens/) [Eleanor Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-antin/) > [Each generation thinks it invented sex; each generation is totally mistaken. Anything along that line today was commonplace both in Pompeii and in Victorian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/each-generation-thinks-it-invented-sex-each-generation-is-totally/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Put a compass to paper and trace a circle. Then tell me which other country has such a concentration of places like Amalfi, Naples,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-della-valle/put-a-compass-to-paper-and-trace-a-circle-then-tell-me-which-other/) [Diego Della Valle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-della-valle/) > [People will perish, but books are immortal. (Pompeii)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/people-will-perish-but-books-are-immortal-pompeii/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [ We mixed the sounds ourselves. If they were going to put the sound back onto our film \[Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii.\], we wanted… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gilmour/we-mixed-the-sounds-ourselves-if-they-were-going-to-put-the-sound/) [David Gilmour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gilmour/) > [ I haven't watched it \[the film 'Pink Floyd at Pompeii'\] in years. I find it excruciating. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gilmour/i-haven-t-watched-it-the-film-pink-floyd-at-pompeii-in-years-i-find/) [David Gilmour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gilmour/) > [Unless companies change these rules, any superficial re-organizations they perform will be no more effective than dusting the furniture in Pompeii.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-martin-hammer/unless-companies-change-these-rules-any-superficial-re-organizations/) [Michael Martin Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-martin-hammer/) > [Adrian Maben came to us with the idea. And we just thought, "Well, why not?" I don't think any of us thought it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gilmour/adrian-maben-came-to-us-with-the-idea-and-we-just-thought-well-why/) [David Gilmour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gilmour/) > [People perish. Books are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/people-perish-books-are-immortal/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [One of the things that struck me when I was a kid and I was learning about Pompeii was these figures that were frozen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-w-s-anderson/one-of-the-things-that-struck-me-when-i-was-a-kid-and-i-was-learning/) [Paul W. S. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-w-s-anderson/) > [“Just the idea of seeing the ruins of Pompeii in person makes me ache deep inside. Then there’s Darren, no longer off limits. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-rae/just-the-idea-of-seeing-the-ruins-of-pompeii-in-person-makes-me-ache/) [Kristin Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-rae/) > ['Pompeii' is definitely a passion project for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-w-s-anderson/pompeii-is-definitely-a-passion-project-for-me/) [Paul W. S. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-w-s-anderson/) ## More by Ernst Jünger > [Freedom is based on the anarch’s awareness that he can kill himself. He carries this awareness around; it accompanies him like a shadow that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/freedom-is-based-on-the-anarch-s-awareness-that-he-can-kill-himself/) [Ernst Junger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“Bruno withdrew from the field of history more resolutely than Vigo; that is why I prefer the former’s retrospect but the latter’s prospect. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/bruno-withdrew-from-the-field-of-history-more-resolutely-than-vigo/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“A great physicist is always a metaphysicist as well; he has a higher concept of his knowledge and his task.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/a-great-physicist-is-always-a-metaphysicist-as-well-he-has-a-higher/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“It is not that I as an anarch reject authority à tout prix. On the other contrary, I seek it, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/it-is-not-that-i-as-an-anarch-reject-authority-tout-prix-on-the-other/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“Obitus vitae otium est (Death is life's rest).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/obitus-vitae-otium-est-death-is-life-s-rest/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [The more the panic grows, the more uplifting the image of a man who refuses to bow to the terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/the-more-the-panic-grows-the-more-uplifting-the-image-of-a-man-who/) [Ernst Junger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“I, as an anarch, renouncing any bond, any limitation of freedom, also reject compulsory education as nonsense. It was one of the greatest well-springs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/i-as-an-anarch-renouncing-any-bond-any-limitation-of-freedom-also/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“The anarch nurtures no expectations. He stakes on no one but himself. Basically, people remain pied pipers, whatever melodies they play to introduce themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/the-anarch-nurtures-no-expectations-he-stakes-on-no-one-but-himself/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“I begin with the respect that the anarch shows towards the rules. Respectare as an intensive of respicere means: ‘to look back, to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/i-begin-with-the-respect-that-the-anarch-shows-towards-the-rules/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“How can one explain this trend towards a more colorless and shallow life? Well, the work was easier, if less healthy, and it brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/how-can-one-explain-this-trend-towards-a-more-colorless-and-shallow/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“The anarch differs from the anarchist in that he has a very pronounced sense of the rules. Insofar as and to the extent that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/the-anarch-differs-from-the-anarchist-in-that-he-has-a-very/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“Man is born violent but is kept in check by the people around him. If he nevertheless manages to throw off his fetters, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/man-is-born-violent-but-is-kept-in-check-by-the-people-around-him-if/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“The anarch, as I have expounded elsewhere, is the pendant to the monarch; he is as sovereign as the monarch, and also freer since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/the-anarch-as-i-have-expounded-elsewhere-is-the-pendant-to-the/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“The ship founders on a sandbank and then gets back afloat. Electric power stops; after a while, the machines start up again. During such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/the-ship-founders-on-a-sandbank-and-then-gets-back-afloat-electric/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“I could not bank on the phlegmatic Chinese; I would have to take care of it myself. This would be safer and also consistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/i-could-not-bank-on-the-phlegmatic-chinese-i-would-have-to-take-care/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) [Explore all 89 Ernst Jünger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At times I see them as if I were walking through the streets of Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius. 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