--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And alas! the look went still deeper…" description: "\"“And alas! the look went still deeper, went far below the faults, defects and hopelessness of our time, our intellect, our culture alone. It went right..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef6/herman-hesse-14882_humanity_and-alas-the-look-went-still-deeper-went_3065009.jpg" --- # And alas! the look went still deeper, went far below the… ![“And alas! the look went still deeper, went far below the faults, defects and hopelessness of our time, our intellect, our culture alone. It went right to the heart of all humanity, it bespoke eloquently in a single second the whole despair of a thinker, of one who knew the full worth and meaning…” quote by Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef6/herman-hesse-14882_humanity_and-alas-the-look-went-still-deeper-went_3065009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef6/herman-hesse-14882_humanity_and-alas-the-look-went-still-deeper-went_3065009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef6/herman-hesse-14882_humanity_and-alas-the-look-went-still-deeper-went_3065009.jpg) > ““And alas! the look went still deeper, went far below the faults, defects and hopelessness of our time, our intellect, our culture alone. It went right to the heart of all humanity, it bespoke eloquently in a single second the whole despair of a thinker, of one who knew the full worth and meaning of man's life. It said: "See what monkeys we are! Look, such is man!" and at once all renown, all intelligence, all the attainments of the spirit, all progress towards the sublime, the great and the enduring in man fell away and became a monkey's trick!”” [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human intellect can become detached, reducing us to primitive folly despite progress. **In simple terms:** Intellect can blind us to humanity. Key Takeaway Stay grounded in humility. Themes philosophy human nature intellectualism Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic pursuits - creative work - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What keeps you connected to humanity? - How do you balance intellect and emotion? A Different Perspective Intellectual pride can inspire growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man's Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mans-life/) [Monkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkey/) [Monkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkeys/) [Monkeys Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkeys-look-1787487/) [Nature of Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Said Monkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-monkeys-5158845/) ## Related quotes > [“See what monkeys we are! Look, such is man!" and at once all renown, all intelligence, all the attainments of the spirit, all progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/see-what-monkeys-we-are-look-such-is-man-and-at-once-all-renown-all/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [We are creatures of information and the imagination. The monkey we are already beginning to transform and shed. We don't look like the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-creatures-of-information-and-the-imagination-the-monkey-we-are/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Si! Today there was a report from scientists who have spent their entire lives studying chimpanzees and you know what they said? They said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-harper/si-today-there-was-a-report-from-scientists-who-have-spent-their/) [Suzanne Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-harper/) > [A monkey was carrying two handfuls of peas. One little pea dropped out. He tried to pick it up, and split twenty. He tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/a-monkey-was-carrying-two-handfuls-of-peas-one-little-pea-dropped-out/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I want you to recognize that I'm a proud monkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/i-want-you-to-recognize-that-i-m-a-proud-monkey/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [A monkey could drive this train.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-whitman/a-monkey-could-drive-this-train/) [Meg Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-whitman/) > [In all honesty, if somebody asked me the secret of auditioning for Americans, I don't know. Often, I do what's called self-taping for America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/in-all-honesty-if-somebody-asked-me-the-secret-of-auditioning-for/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [If money grew on trees... girls would date monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/if-money-grew-on-trees-girls-would-date-monkeys/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I don't mind if, according to the Law of Evolution, my grand grand grand etc. father is a monkey,but I do mind if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/i-don-t-mind-if-according-to-the-law-of-evolution-my-grand-grand/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Well, there's no monkey on my back,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-clijsters/well-there-s-no-monkey-on-my-back/) [Kim Clijsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-clijsters/) > [A monkey was the President, though maybe not the first. And there was peace and harmony throughout the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/a-monkey-was-the-president-though-maybe-not-the-first-and-there-was/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [My dream pet? I like a couple of them, man: monkey, I love dogs. See, tigers, I don't know - I can't be playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/french-montana/my-dream-pet-i-like-a-couple-of-them-man-monkey-i-love-dogs-see/) [French Montana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/french-montana/) > [The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of its behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stilwell/the-higher-a-monkey-climbs-the-more-you-see-of-its-behind/) [Joseph Stilwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stilwell/) > [But then, after all, we are all alike, for we are all derived from the monkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/but-then-after-all-we-are-all-alike-for-we-are-all-derived-from-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Monkeys who very sensibly refrain from speech, lest they should be set to earn their livings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/monkeys-who-very-sensibly-refrain-from-speech-lest-they-should-be-set/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) ## More by Herman Hesse > [“O how incomprehensible everything was, and actually sad, although it was also beautiful. One knew nothing. One lived and ran about the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/o-how-incomprehensible-everything-was-and-actually-sad-although-it/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [Love exists to show us how much we can endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/love-exists-to-show-us-how-much-we-can-endure/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“If you need something desperately and find it, this is not an accident; your own craving and compulsion leads you to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/if-you-need-something-desperately-and-find-it-this-is-not-an-accident/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“and so I think, O Illustrious One, that nobody finds salvation through teachings. To nobody, O Illustrious One, can you communicate in words and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/and-so-i-think-o-illustrious-one-that-nobody-finds-salvation-through/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“Once he said to her: 'You are like me; you are different from other people. You are Kamala and no one else, and within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/once-he-said-to-her-you-are-like-me-you-are-different-from-other/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“My story isn't sweet and harmonious, like invented stories. It tastes of folly and bewilderment, of madness and dream, like the life of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/my-story-isn-t-sweet-and-harmonious-like-invented-stories-it-tastes/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“Exactly, my dear sir, as the radio for ten minutes together projects the most lovely music without regard into the most impossible places, into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/exactly-my-dear-sir-as-the-radio-for-ten-minutes-together-projects/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“In spite of their friendship, they were so far apart, the bowstring was so taut between them: a seeing man and a blind man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/in-spite-of-their-friendship-they-were-so-far-apart-the-bowstring-was/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [It was as if all of the happiness, all of the magic of this blissful hour had flowed together into these stirring, bittersweet tones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/it-was-as-if-all-of-the-happiness-all-of-the-magic-of-this-blissful/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“Are ideals attainable? Do we live to abolish death? No-we live to fear it and then again to love it, and just for death's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/are-ideals-attainable-do-we-live-to-abolish-death-no-we-live-to-fear/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“The morality of artists is replaced by aesthetics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/the-morality-of-artists-is-replaced-by-aesthetics/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“There is, in fact, no way back either to the wolf or to the child. From the very start there is no innocence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/there-is-in-fact-no-way-back-either-to-the-wolf-or-to-the-child-from/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“After so many years of foolishness, you have once again had an idea, have done something, have heard the bird in your chest singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/after-so-many-years-of-foolishness-you-have-once-again-had-an-idea/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“Govinda said: "But what you call thing, is it something real, something intrinsic? Is it not only the illusion of Maya, only image and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/govinda-said-but-what-you-call-thing-is-it-something-real-something/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) > [“A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-hesse/a-longing-to-wander-tears-my-heart-when-i-hear-trees-rustling-in-the-2/) [Herman Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) [Explore all 24 Herman Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-hesse/) ## More Humanity quotes > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Is it necessary to recall that the earth is not infinite, and that our civilization is close to having invaded all of it? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-tarde/is-it-necessary-to-recall-that-the-earth-is-not-infinite-and-that-our/) [Gabriel Tarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-tarde/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Once the switch of parenthood is thrown, it changes you for ever & you can never escape the extra pull of humanity it gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hammond/once-the-switch-of-parenthood-is-thrown-it-changes-you-for-ever-you/) [Richard hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hammond/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-not-lose-faith-in-humanity-humanity-is-like-an-ocean-if-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 9,796 Humanity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And alas! the look went still deeper, went far below the faults, defects and hopelessness of our time, our intellect, our culture alone. It went right to the heart of all humanity, it bespoke eloquently in a single second the whole despair of a thinker, of one who knew the full worth and meaning of man's life. It said: \"See what monkeys we are! 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