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Beauty Quote by Gustave Flaubert

“Never have things of the spirit counted for so little. Never has hatred for everything great been so manifest – disdain for Beauty, execration of literature. I have always tried to live in an ivory tower, but a tide of shit is beating at its walls, threatening to undermine it.” quote by Gustave Flaubert
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““Never have things of the spirit counted for so little. Never has hatred for everything great been so manifest – disdain for Beauty, execration of literature. I have always tried to live in an ivory tower, but a tide of shit is beating at its walls, threatening to undermine it.””

Gustave Flaubert

About This Quote

Source Novel: Sentimental Education, Gustave Flaubert, 1869

The spiritual and cultural values are being devalued, while hatred and contempt for greatness rise, threatening the purity of intellectual pursuits.

In simple terms: Spiritual values are ignored, hatred for greatness grows.

Key Takeaway

Protect and cherish cultural and spiritual ideals.

Themes

culture spirituality decay intellectualism

Mood

disillusioned critical reflective

Type

philosophical critical

When to use this quote

  • academic life
  • political discourse
  • art criticism
  • personal reflection

Key Concepts

nihilism modernism cultural criticism

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do you maintain personal integrity amid widespread cynicism?
  • What can be done to revive respect for beauty and literature?
A Different Perspective

Even in an ivory tower, external negativity can infiltrate and erode ideals.

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