Blind Yudenow Quote by Gerald Kersh
““ Yudenow was a controlled panic of self-preservation on two uncertain legs; abject slave to a mad desire for what beasts know as blind survival. A comical beast, I thought, but asked myself, 'Why prolong mere living for its own sake?' The question answered itself: 'Because a beast is blind.' In Yudenow's case, he was animated by nothing but a terror of Nothing, a horror of ceasing to be; by a hopeless desire to evade consequence and issue, parry cause and duck effect. But he had - and you can read it in the faces of defeated fighters, doglike to the verge of tears in the outer offices - the hope-against-hope that, by fiddling and scraping against all the odds of the world, his ringcraft might outmaneuver the inevitable. And do you know what? There is the Spirit of Man in this - good, bad, or indifferent, a certain heroism.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The World of Yudenow, 1945
A character is driven by fear of non-existence and a desperate hope to outwit fate, reflecting humanity’s mixed heroism and despair.
In simple terms: Fear of nothingness fuels desperate hope and heroism.
Key Takeaway
Embrace hope despite fear.
Themes
existentialism
heroism
despair
hope
survival
Mood
reflective
somber
inquisitive
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- personal crisis
- creative writing
- philosophical debate
- psychological analysis
Key Concepts
nihilism
existential dread
human resilience
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “spirit of man” mean to you?
- How can hope be both rational and irrational?
A Different Perspective
The hope may be self‑deceptive and not guarantee success.
