--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a bell failed to ring, if a stove…" description: "\"If a bell failed to ring, if a stove smoked, if a wheel on a machine stuck, you knew at once where to look and did so with alacrity; you found the defe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/hermann-hesse-130_alacrity_if-a-bell-failed-to-ring-if-a-stove-smok_1477657.png" --- # If a bell failed to ring, if a stove smoked, if a wheel on… ![“If a bell failed to ring, if a stove smoked, if a wheel on a machine stuck, you knew at once where to look and did so with alacrity; you found the defect and knew how to cure it. But the thing within you, the secret mainspring that alone gave meaning to life, the thing within us that alone is…” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/hermann-hesse-130_alacrity_if-a-bell-failed-to-ring-if-a-stove-smok_1477657.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/hermann-hesse-130_alacrity_if-a-bell-failed-to-ring-if-a-stove-smok_1477657.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/217/hermann-hesse-130_alacrity_if-a-bell-failed-to-ring-if-a-stove-smok_1477657.png) > “If a bell failed to ring, if a stove smoked, if a wheel on a machine stuck, you knew at once where to look and did so with alacrity; you found the defect and knew how to cure it. But the thing within you, the secret mainspring that alone gave meaning to life, the thing within us that alone is living, alone is capable of feeling pleasure and pain, of craving happiness and experiencing it- that was unknown. You knew nothing about that, nothing at all, and if the mainspring failed there was no cure. Wasn't it insane?” [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. The quote contrasts external problem‑solving with the unknowable inner self, suggesting that while we can quickly fix material defects, we cannot repair the soul when it fails. **In simple terms:** We can fix things outside us, but not our inner self. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of self‑repair. Themes self‑awareness existential limitations Mood reflective somber Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health - spiritual seeking Key Concepts psychology philosophy human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do we address inner suffering? - Can external solutions help inner crises? A Different Perspective The inner self may be beyond rational control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alacrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alacrity/) [Bells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bells/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Defects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defects/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Living alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-alone/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain and pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-and-pleasure/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasure And Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-and-pain/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [“If motorcycles—or any object from a person's past—could cure this thing, it would no longer exist. People would unearth their family treasures, polish up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ockler/if-motorcycles-or-any-object-from-a-person-s-past-could-cure-this/) [Sarah Ockler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ockler/) > [Novelty is indeed necessary to preserve eagerness and alacrity; but art and nature have stores inexhaustible by human intellects, and every moment produces something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/novelty-is-indeed-necessary-to-preserve-eagerness-and-alacrity-but/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Atheists put on false courage and alacrity in the midst of their darkness and apprehensions, like children who, when they fear to go in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/atheists-put-on-false-courage-and-alacrity-in-the-midst-of-their/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I don't mind how many letters I receive from one who interests me as much as you do. The receptive part of correspondence I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-don-t-mind-how-many-letters-i-receive-from-one-who-interests-me-as/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [A beaver does not, as legend would have it, know which direction the tree will fall when he cuts it, but counts on alacrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-zwinger/a-beaver-does-not-as-legend-would-have-it-know-which-direction-the/) [Ann Zwinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-zwinger/) > [By multiplying the means of gratification, by promoting the introduction and circulation of the precious metals, those darling objects of human avarice and enterprise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/by-multiplying-the-means-of-gratification-by-promoting-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [If, sir, men were all virtuous, I should with great alacrity teach them all to fly. But what would be the security of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-sir-men-were-all-virtuous-i-should-with-great-alacrity-teach-them/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There are, indeed, few merrier spectacles than that of many windmills bickering together in a fresh breeze over a woody country; their halting alacrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/there-are-indeed-few-merrier-spectacles-than-that-of-many-windmills/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Government never furthered any enterprise but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/government-never-furthered-any-enterprise-but-by-the-alacrity-with/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [ ... Don \[Hewitt, 60 Minutes exec producer\] told me, "You have set broadcast journalism back 20 years." Naturally, I was both proud and elated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-von-hoffman/don-hewitt-60-minutes-exec-producer-told-me-you-have-set-broadcast/) [Nicholas von Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-von-hoffman/) > [“When the fuel is dried up in a vehicle, it stops driving automatically. You are a vehicle in the spiritual and the physical world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-the-fuel-is-dried-up-in-a-vehicle-it-stops-driving-automatically/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [It should be done with the same degree of alacrity and nonchalance that you would display in authorizing a highly intelligent trained bear to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-s-greenberg-2/it-should-be-done-with-the-same-degree-of-alacrity-and-nonchalance/) Daniel S Greenberg > [He who thinks with difficulty believes with alacrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/he-who-thinks-with-difficulty-believes-with-alacrity/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The poems in Helena Mesa’s virtuosic first book, Horse Dance Underwater, run with such speed, verve, and alacrity they leave you breathless, exhilarated, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-collier/the-poems-in-helena-mesa-s-virtuosic-first-book-horse-dance/) Michael Collier > [Mrs Thatcher tells us she has given the French President a piece of her mind... not a gift I would receive with alacrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-healey/mrs-thatcher-tells-us-she-has-given-the-french-president-a-piece-of/) [Denis Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-healey/) ## 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. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. 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 Alacrity quotes > [Novelty is indeed necessary to preserve eagerness and alacrity; but art and nature have stores inexhaustible by human intellects, and every moment produces something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/novelty-is-indeed-necessary-to-preserve-eagerness-and-alacrity-but/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The poems in Helena Mesa’s virtuosic first book, Horse Dance Underwater, run with such speed, verve, and alacrity they leave you breathless, exhilarated, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-collier/the-poems-in-helena-mesa-s-virtuosic-first-book-horse-dance/) Michael Collier > [He who thinks with difficulty believes with alacrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/he-who-thinks-with-difficulty-believes-with-alacrity/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [It should be done with the same degree of alacrity and nonchalance that you would display in authorizing a highly intelligent trained bear to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-s-greenberg-2/it-should-be-done-with-the-same-degree-of-alacrity-and-nonchalance/) Daniel S Greenberg > [“When the fuel is dried up in a vehicle, it stops driving automatically. You are a vehicle in the spiritual and the physical world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-the-fuel-is-dried-up-in-a-vehicle-it-stops-driving-automatically/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [ ... Don \[Hewitt, 60 Minutes exec producer\] told me, "You have set broadcast journalism back 20 years." Naturally, I was both proud and elated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-von-hoffman/don-hewitt-60-minutes-exec-producer-told-me-you-have-set-broadcast/) [Nicholas von Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-von-hoffman/) > [Government never furthered any enterprise but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/government-never-furthered-any-enterprise-but-by-the-alacrity-with/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There are, indeed, few merrier spectacles than that of many windmills bickering together in a fresh breeze over a woody country; their halting alacrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/there-are-indeed-few-merrier-spectacles-than-that-of-many-windmills/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [If, sir, men were all virtuous, I should with great alacrity teach them all to fly. But what would be the security of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-sir-men-were-all-virtuous-i-should-with-great-alacrity-teach-them/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [By multiplying the means of gratification, by promoting the introduction and circulation of the precious metals, those darling objects of human avarice and enterprise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/by-multiplying-the-means-of-gratification-by-promoting-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [A beaver does not, as legend would have it, know which direction the tree will fall when he cuts it, but counts on alacrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-zwinger/a-beaver-does-not-as-legend-would-have-it-know-which-direction-the/) [Ann Zwinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-zwinger/) > [I don't mind how many letters I receive from one who interests me as much as you do. The receptive part of correspondence I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-don-t-mind-how-many-letters-i-receive-from-one-who-interests-me-as/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Atheists put on false courage and alacrity in the midst of their darkness and apprehensions, like children who, when they fear to go in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/atheists-put-on-false-courage-and-alacrity-in-the-midst-of-their/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Mrs Thatcher tells us she has given the French President a piece of her mind... not a gift I would receive with alacrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-healey/mrs-thatcher-tells-us-she-has-given-the-french-president-a-piece-of/) [Denis Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-healey/) > [I was also surprised by the alacrity and dedication we devote to the damaging exercise of remembering, which after all brings nothing good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-also-surprised-by-the-alacrity-and-dedication-we-devote-to-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 23 Alacrity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alacrity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a bell failed to ring, if a stove smoked, if a wheel on a machine stuck, you knew at once where to look and did so with alacrity; you found the defect and knew how to cure it. But the thing within you, the secret mainspring that alone gave meaning to life, the thing within us that alone is living, alone is capable of feeling pleasure and pain, of craving happiness and experiencing it- that was unknown. You knew nothing about that, nothing at all, and if the mainspring failed there was no cure. 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