--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I go forward slowly, dead, and my vision…" description: "\"“I go forward slowly, dead, and my vision is no longer mine, it’s nothing: it’s only the vision of the human animal who, without wanting, inherited Gre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acc/fernando-pessoa-177_christian-morality_i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-i_1359628.jpg" --- # I go forward slowly, dead, and my vision is no longer… ![“I go forward slowly, dead, and my vision is no longer mine, it’s nothing: it’s only the vision of the human animal who, without wanting, inherited Greek culture, Roman order, Christian morality, and all the other illusions that constitute the civilization in which I feel. Where can the living be?” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acc/fernando-pessoa-177_christian-morality_i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-i_1359628.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acc/fernando-pessoa-177_christian-morality_i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-i_1359628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acc/fernando-pessoa-177_christian-morality_i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-i_1359628.jpg) > ““I go forward slowly, dead, and my vision is no longer mine, it’s nothing: it’s only the vision of the human animal who, without wanting, inherited Greek culture, Roman order, Christian morality, and all the other illusions that constitute the civilization in which I feel. Where can the living be?”” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels alienated, seeing modern civilization as an inherited illusion, questioning where authentic living can exist. **In simple terms:** Alienation in modern culture. Key Takeaway Seek authentic experiences. Themes alienation culture identity existentialism illusion Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary existential When to use this quote - urban life - academic study - personal crisis - spiritual searching Key Concepts philosophy literature modernity Questions to Reflect On - What does “living” mean to you? - Can you find authenticity within current society? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize past cultures, ignoring their flaws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christian morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-morality/) [Civilization Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-feel-4648729/) [Constitute Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitute-civilization-4648728/) [Dead Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-vision-4648731/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Feel Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-living-498652/) [Human animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-animal/) [Illusions Constitute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusions-constitute-4648730/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) ## Related quotes > [“I feel I'm living in parentheses”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wilson/i-feel-i-m-living-in-parentheses/) [Steven Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wilson/) > [The important thing is the storytelling and having a script that makes you feel you're living and breathing through the characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-mueller/the-important-thing-is-the-storytelling-and-having-a-script-that/) [Jessie Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-mueller/) > [A complete life is lived when we need to feel that we are living our lives as our own true Self, walking in step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/a-complete-life-is-lived-when-we-need-to-feel-that-we-are-living-our/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [You feel as if you're not living a full life. Which, of course, is why - it's my theory about why so many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/you-feel-as-if-you-re-not-living-a-full-life-which-of-course-is-why/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I still feel I'm living someone else's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bishop/i-still-feel-i-m-living-someone-else-s-life/) [John Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bishop/) > [Within the miraculous brew of universal creativity , all you desire already exists. Spend five minutes each morning with your eyes closed, living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/within-the-miraculous-brew-of-universal-creativity-all-you-desire/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I live in the facial expressions of the other, as I feel him living in mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/i-live-in-the-facial-expressions-of-the-other-as-i-feel-him-living-in/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Close your eyes and breathe in, concentrate on the breath and heart beat, feel that? You are a living being capable of changing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-wolf/close-your-eyes-and-breathe-in-concentrate-on-the-breath-and-heart/) [Hamza Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-wolf/) > [“when i get closer to her i feel that i'm living..then i recognised that i'm Dead ilose her..this is a law gifted after born..this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeru-amare/when-i-get-closer-to-her-i-feel-that-i-m-living-then-i-recognised/) [zeru amare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeru-amare/) > [I only know that I feel tired, antiquated; I feel as though I had been living a long, long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/i-only-know-that-i-feel-tired-antiquated-i-feel-as-though-i-had-been/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [I’d like to have enough time and quiet To think about absolutely nothing, To not ever feel myself living, To only know myself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-like-to-have-enough-time-and-quiet-to-think-about-absolutely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you treat your feelings with as much love as you treat your dog or your cat or your child you'll feel as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/if-you-treat-your-feelings-with-as-much-love-as-you-treat-your-dog-or/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [It's overwhelming. I feel as if I am living in an illusion a dream where all things are possible. Amazing things do happen I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/it-s-overwhelming-i-feel-as-if-i-am-living-in-an-illusion-a-dream/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [WHEN YOU LOSE THE PERSON THAT YOU LOVE,THE MOST YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE NOT LIVING ANYMORE...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smilingfe22-your-has-successfully-been-a/when-you-lose-the-person-that-you-love-the-most-you-feel-that-you-re/) [Smilingfe22! Your Has Successfully Been A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smilingfe22-your-has-successfully-been-a/) > [“You know what I’ve seen, what I’ve done. I’ve killed men. In war. In peace. Sometimes far away, sometimes up close and personal. I’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/you-know-what-i-ve-seen-what-i-ve-done-i-ve-killed-men-in-war-in/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Christian morality quotes > [In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/in-vain-would-that-man-claim-the-tribute-of-patriotism-who-should/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-carroll-of-carrollton/without-morals-a-republic-cannot-subsist-any-length-of-time-they/) [Charles Carroll of Carrollton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-carroll-of-carrollton/) > [“By setting such strong, harsh dichotomies God taught Israel that any assimilation to pagan idolatry is intolerable. It was His way of preserving Israel’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/by-setting-such-strong-harsh-dichotomies-god-taught-israel-that-any/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [Because Christian morality leaves animals out of account, they are at once outlawed in philosophical morals; they are mere 'things,' mere means to any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/because-christian-morality-leaves-animals-out-of-account-they-are-at/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him (i.e. Jesus) by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/among-the-sayings-and-discourses-imputed-to-him-i-e-jesus-by-his/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“it was much less dangerous for the disciples of Christ to neglect the observance of the moral duties, than to despise the censures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-was-much-less-dangerous-for-the-disciples-of-christ-to-neglect-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [A strange fanaticism fills our time: the fanatical hatred of morality, especially of Christian morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-strange-fanaticism-fills-our-time-the-fanatical-hatred-of-morality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Christian morality prefers remorse to precede lust, and then lust not to follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/christian-morality-prefers-remorse-to-precede-lust-and-then-lust-not/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [These principles have been proclaimed by God, by the Church, by the Saints, by Christian reason and morals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/these-principles-have-been-proclaimed-by-god-by-the-church-by-the/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation deserts the oaths . . . ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/where-is-the-security-for-property-for-reputation-for-life-if-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The only foundation for . . . a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/the-only-foundation-for-a-republic-is-to-be-laid-in-religion-without/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [Although I'm not Christian, I was raised Christian. I'm an atheist, with a slight Buddhist leaning. I've got a very strong sense of morality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-griffiths/although-i-m-not-christian-i-was-raised-christian-i-m-an-atheist-with/) [Rachel Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-griffiths/) > [When one gives up Christian belief one thereby deprives oneself of the right to Christian morality. For the latter is absolutely not self-evident: one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-one-gives-up-christian-belief-one-thereby-deprives-oneself-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Giving to the poor is an essential part of Christian morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/giving-to-the-poor-is-an-essential-part-of-christian-morality/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Christian morality, laws rooted in the secular humanist belief that all consensual sexual acts are morally equal. That belief is anti-biblical and amoral; to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/christian-morality-laws-rooted-in-the-secular-humanist-belief-that/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) [Browse all 48 Christian morality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-morality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I go forward slowly, dead, and my vision is no longer mine, it’s nothing: it’s only the vision of the human animal who, without wanting, inherited Greek culture, Roman order, Christian morality, and all the other illusions that constitute the civilization in which I feel. Where can the living be?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fernando Pessoa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-is-no-longer-mine-it-s-nothing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christian morality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-is-no-longer-mine-it-s-nothing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acc/fernando-pessoa-177_christian-morality_i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-i_1359628.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acc/fernando-pessoa-177_christian-morality_i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-i_1359628.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acc/fernando-pessoa-177_christian-morality_i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-i_1359628.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I go forward slowly, dead, and my vision is no longer mine, it’s nothing: it’s only the vision of the human…” — Fernando Pessoa", "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": "Fernando Pessoa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I go forward slowly, dead, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-is-no-longer-mine-it-s-nothing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-go-forward-slowly-dead-and-my-vision-is-no-longer-mine-it-s-nothing/#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 } } ] } ```