--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it is part of our intellectual…" description: "\"“But it is part of our intellectual arrogance that we confront world history, especially in modern times, in much the same spirit that the hermits and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/hermann-hesse-130_arrogance_but-it-is-part-of-our-intellectual-arrog_1438922.png" --- # But it is part of our intellectual arrogance that we… ![“But it is part of our intellectual arrogance that we confront world history, especially in modern times, in much the same spirit that the hermits and ascetics of early Christianity confronted the theatrum mundi, the great theater of the world. History seems to us an arena of instincts and…” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/hermann-hesse-130_arrogance_but-it-is-part-of-our-intellectual-arrog_1438922.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/hermann-hesse-130_arrogance_but-it-is-part-of-our-intellectual-arrog_1438922.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/hermann-hesse-130_arrogance_but-it-is-part-of-our-intellectual-arrog_1438922.png) > ““But it is part of our intellectual arrogance that we confront world history, especially in modern times, in much the same spirit that the hermits and ascetics of early Christianity confronted the theatrum mundi, the great theater of the world. History seems to us an arena of instincts and fashions, of appetite, avarice, and craving for power, of blood lust, violence, destruction, and wars, of ambitious ministers, venal generals, bombarded cities, and we too easily forget that this is only one of its many aspects. Above all we forget that we ourselves are a part of history, that we are the product of growth and are condemned to perish if we lose the capacity for further growth and change. We are ourselves history and share the responsibility for world history and our position in it. But we gravely lack awareness of this responsibility.”” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We view history as a stage of power struggles and passions, forgetting we are also participants whose growth and responsibility shape it. **In simple terms:** History is seen as power drama, but we are actors who must grow and act responsibly. Key Takeaway Recognize personal role in history and act responsibly. Themes responsibility history growth power awareness Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political activism - education reform - personal development - community leadership Key Concepts existentialism human agency historical consciousness Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing personal agency alter your view of history? - What responsibilities arise from seeing yourself as part of history? A Different Perspective Our focus on external events can blind us to internal change needed for societal progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Growth And Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-and-change/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Intellectual arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-arrogance/) [Modern times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-times/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-history/) ## Related quotes > [“Greatness has its beauties, but only in retrospect and in the imagination": thus wrote General Bonaparte to General Moreau in 1800. His observation helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-christopher-herold/greatness-has-its-beauties-but-only-in-retrospect-and-in-the/) [J. Christopher Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-christopher-herold/) > [“Censorship and the suppression of reading materials are rarely about family values and almost always about control--about who is snapping the whip, who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/censorship-and-the-suppression-of-reading-materials-are-rarely-about-2/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Regarding 'Jabez's Prayer', I will say at once that I am a very poor Christian, and indeed a bad man. 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I don't think the science is clear what percentage is man-made and what percentage is natural.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/look-first-of-all-the-climate-is-changing-i-don-t-think-the-science/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We exhort the compromisers to open their hearts to truth, to free themselves of their wretched and blind circumspection, of their intellectual arrogance, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/we-exhort-the-compromisers-to-open-their-hearts-to-truth-to-free/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [If, in any individual, university training produces a taste for refined idleness, a distaste for sustained effort, a barren intellectual arrogance, or a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-in-any-individual-university-training-produces-a-taste-for-refined/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Many Christians are either woefully deficient in their knowledge of Scripture or noticeably devoid of any experience of God's power. The Lord never intended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-storms/many-christians-are-either-woefully-deficient-in-their-knowledge-of/) [Sam Storms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-storms/) > [“Censorship and the suppression of reading materials are rarely about family values and almost always about control; About who is snapping the whip, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/censorship-and-the-suppression-of-reading-materials-are-rarely-about/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it in summer school”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/those-who-forget-history-are-doomed-to-repeat-it-in-summer-school/) [Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [We humans are still a very primitive culture, and it's one of the traps we've fallen into over the course of our lives -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/we-humans-are-still-a-very-primitive-culture-and-it-s-one-of-the/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [Don't ever forget the history. It will make and change who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sukarno/don-t-ever-forget-the-history-it-will-make-and-change-who-we-are/) [Sukarno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sukarno/) > [Don't ever forget your history," she sang, "or any wicked soul can lie to you and get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gantos/don-t-ever-forget-your-history-she-sang-or-any-wicked-soul-can-lie-to/) [Jack Gantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gantos/) > [“People forget history nowadays, he lamented, that is what the ego does, making one the prisoner of one's inflated present, ignoring the humble past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aporva-kala/people-forget-history-nowadays-he-lamented-that-is-what-the-ego-does/) [Aporva Kala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aporva-kala/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Arrogance quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [Closed some doors, not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenz-jeffrey/closed-some-doors-not-because-of-pride-incapacity-or-arrogance-but/) [Frenz Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenz-jeffrey/) > [My success isn't a result of arrogance - it's a result of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/my-success-isn-t-a-result-of-arrogance-it-s-a-result-of-belief/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) Miguel Cervantes > [An increasing number of people are growing uncomfortable with the gulf between the world's rich and the poor. Ostentatiously splashing your money around simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/an-increasing-number-of-people-are-growing-uncomfortable-with-the/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) [Browse all 1,418 Arrogance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it is part of our intellectual arrogance that we confront world history, especially in modern times, in much the same spirit that the hermits and ascetics of early Christianity confronted the theatrum mundi, the great theater of the world. History seems to us an arena of instincts and fashions, of appetite, avarice, and craving for power, of blood lust, violence, destruction, and wars, of ambitious ministers, venal generals, bombarded cities, and we too easily forget that this is only one of its many aspects. 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