--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ah! This is retribution for Promethean…" description: "\"“Ah! This is retribution for Promethean fire! Besides being patient, you must also love this sadness and respect your doubts and questions. They are an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/ivan-goncharov-16673_doubt_ah-this-is-retribution-for-promethean-fi_2895379.jpg" --- # Ah! This is retribution for Promethean fire! Besides being… ![“Ah! This is retribution for Promethean fire! Besides being patient, you must also love this sadness and respect your doubts and questions. They are an abundant excess, a luxury of life, and they appear more at the summits of happiness, when you have no crude desires. They are not born in the midst…” quote by Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/ivan-goncharov-16673_doubt_ah-this-is-retribution-for-promethean-fi_2895379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/ivan-goncharov-16673_doubt_ah-this-is-retribution-for-promethean-fi_2895379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cd/ivan-goncharov-16673_doubt_ah-this-is-retribution-for-promethean-fi_2895379.jpg) > ““Ah! This is retribution for Promethean fire! Besides being patient, you must also love this sadness and respect your doubts and questions. They are an abundant excess, a luxury of life, and they appear more at the summits of happiness, when you have no crude desires. They are not born in the midst of mundanity. They have no place where there is grief and want. The masses go along without knowing the fog of doubts or the anguish of questions. But for anyone who has encountered them at the right time they are dear visitors, not a hammer.' 'But there's no coping with them. They bring anguish and indifference to nearly everything.' she added indecisively. 'But for how long? Afterward they refresh life,' he said. 'They lead to an abyss from which nothing can be gained, and they force you to look again at life, with even greater love. They summon up your tested powers to struggle with it, as if expressly to let them sleep afterward.' 'This fog and these specters torment me!' she complained. 'Everything is bright and all of a sudden a sinister shadow is cast over life! Are there no means against this?' 'What do you mean? Your buttress is in life! Without it, life is sickening, even without any questions!' p. 508”” [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) ## 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 explores how deep doubts and existential questions arise at moments of great happiness, acting as both torment and catalyst for deeper love and self‑examination. **In simple terms:** Doubts appear at life's peaks, urging deeper love and reflection. Key Takeaway Embrace doubts as guides to richer meaning. Themes existential philosophical psychology humanity Mood melancholic reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational cautionary When to use this quote - creative crisis - personal growth - spiritual awakening - artistic inspiration Key Concepts nihilism self‑reflection transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn existential dread into creative energy? - What practices help you sit with unanswered questions? A Different Perspective Doubts can also paralyze and cause despair if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anguish Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish-questions-4087544/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Doubts Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubts-anguish-4087541/) [Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goncharov/) [Greater love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-love/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Meaning of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-of-life/) [Oblomov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblomov/) [Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question/) [Respect Doubts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect-doubts-4087542/) [Retribution Promethean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retribution-promethean-4087543/) [Right time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-time/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Sadness Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness-respect-4087545/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [If one hesitates in his path, let him not proceed. Let him respect his doubts, for doubts, too, may have some divinity in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-one-hesitates-in-his-path-let-him-not-proceed-let-him-respect-his/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“But in love, merit is won blindly and unaccountably, and in this blindness and unaccountability lies happiness. pp. 445-446”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/but-in-love-merit-is-won-blindly-and-unaccountably-and-in-this/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“He had never clearly fathomed the true weight of a word of good, truth, and purity cast in the stream of human speech and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/he-had-never-clearly-fathomed-the-true-weight-of-a-word-of-good-truth/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Yes, and I think I will have enough strength to live and love my whole life through. One without the other is impossible. p. 265”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/yes-and-i-think-i-will-have-enough-strength-to-live-and-love-my-whole/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Love was life's hardest school of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/love-was-life-s-hardest-school-of-all/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Life is duty and obligation, therefore love, too, is a duty. It's as if God sent it to me,' she said, looking up at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/life-is-duty-and-obligation-therefore-love-too-is-a-duty-it-s-as-if/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“The moments of nature's universal, triumphant silence had come, those minutes when the creative mind works harder, poetic thoughts seethe more ardently, the heart's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/the-moments-of-nature-s-universal-triumphant-silence-had-come-those/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“When all the forces in your organism come into play, then life will begin to play around you as well. You'll see what your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/when-all-the-forces-in-your-organism-come-into-play-then-life-will/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Memories are either the greatest poetry, when they are memories of a vital happiness, or a burning pain, when they touch dried wounds. p. 479”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/memories-are-either-the-greatest-poetry-when-they-are-memories-of-a/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“A lover of comfort might shrug after looking at the whole apparent jumble of furniture, old paintings, statues with missing arms and legs, engravings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/a-lover-of-comfort-might-shrug-after-looking-at-the-whole-apparent/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“As a young man, he had instinctively husbanded the freshness of his powers. At the time, it was too soon to see that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/as-a-young-man-he-had-instinctively-husbanded-the-freshness-of-his/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“She attended the French performance, but the play's content now had a connection to her life. She read a book and the book invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/she-attended-the-french-performance-but-the-play-s-content-now-had-a/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) ## More by Ivan Goncharov > [“She never indulged in reveries or tried to be clever in her conversation; she seemed to have drawn a line in her mind beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/she-never-indulged-in-reveries-or-tried-to-be-clever-in-her/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“But in love, merit is won blindly and unaccountably, and in this blindness and unaccountability lies happiness. pp. 445-446”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/but-in-love-merit-is-won-blindly-and-unaccountably-and-in-this/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“What? Do you suppose the intellect can work separately from the heart?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/what-do-you-suppose-the-intellect-can-work-separately-from-the-heart/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“As a young man, he had instinctively husbanded the freshness of his powers. At the time, it was too soon to see that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/as-a-young-man-he-had-instinctively-husbanded-the-freshness-of-his/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“A lover of comfort might shrug after looking at the whole apparent jumble of furniture, old paintings, statues with missing arms and legs, engravings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/a-lover-of-comfort-might-shrug-after-looking-at-the-whole-apparent/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [When you don't know what you're living for, you don't care how you live from one day to the next. You're happy the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/when-you-don-t-know-what-you-re-living-for-you-don-t-care-how-you/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Memories are either the greatest poetry, when they are memories of a vital happiness, or a burning pain, when they touch dried wounds. p. 479”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/memories-are-either-the-greatest-poetry-when-they-are-memories-of-a/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“All at once he found his mind drawing a parallel between that destiny and his own existence; all at once questions of life arose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/all-at-once-he-found-his-mind-drawing-a-parallel-between-that-destiny/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Plunged up to the ears in work, good friend!" thought Oblomov as he watched him depart. "Yes, and blind and deaf and dumb to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/plunged-up-to-the-ears-in-work-good-friend-thought-oblomov-as-he/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“When all the forces in your organism come into play, then life will begin to play around you as well. You'll see what your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/when-all-the-forces-in-your-organism-come-into-play-then-life-will/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [It is a trick among the dishonest to offer sacrifices that are not needed, or not possible, to avoid making those that are required.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/it-is-a-trick-among-the-dishonest-to-offer-sacrifices-that-are-not/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“The moments of nature's universal, triumphant silence had come, those minutes when the creative mind works harder, poetic thoughts seethe more ardently, the heart's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/the-moments-of-nature-s-universal-triumphant-silence-had-come-those/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Life is duty and obligation, therefore love, too, is a duty. It's as if God sent it to me,' she said, looking up at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/life-is-duty-and-obligation-therefore-love-too-is-a-duty-it-s-as-if/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“I began life with a quenching of the light of day, and, from the first moment that I realized myself, realized also that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/i-began-life-with-a-quenching-of-the-light-of-day-and-from-the-first/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Oblomows liggende houding kwam niet uit noodzaak voort, zoals bij een zieke of bij iemand die slapen wil, het was geen toeval, omdat hij…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/oblomows-liggende-houding-kwam-niet-uit-noodzaak-voort-zoals-bij-een/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) [Explore all 35 Ivan Goncharov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) ## More Doubt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Vision motivates, sustains and dispels doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-young/vision-motivates-sustains-and-dispels-doubt/) [Thomas Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-young/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Let smiles overshadow sadness. Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapman/when-in-doubt-suggest-that-a-subcommittee-be-appointed/) [Harry Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapman/) > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Browse all 9,582 Doubt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ah! This is retribution for Promethean fire! Besides being patient, you must also love this sadness and respect your doubts and questions. 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