--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There must always remain, however, from…" description: "\"“There must always remain, however, from the standpoint of normal waking consciousness, a certain baffling inconsistency between the wisdom brought for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0a/joseph-campbell-300_character_there-must-always-remain-however-from-th_1689909.png" --- # There must always remain, however, from the standpoint of… ![“There must always remain, however, from the standpoint of normal waking consciousness, a certain baffling inconsistency between the wisdom brought forth from the deep, and the prudence usually found to be effective in the light world. Hence the common divorce of opportunism from virtue and the…” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0a/joseph-campbell-300_character_there-must-always-remain-however-from-th_1689909.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0a/joseph-campbell-300_character_there-must-always-remain-however-from-th_1689909.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0a/joseph-campbell-300_character_there-must-always-remain-however-from-th_1689909.png) > ““There must always remain, however, from the standpoint of normal waking consciousness, a certain baffling inconsistency between the wisdom brought forth from the deep, and the prudence usually found to be effective in the light world. Hence the common divorce of opportunism from virtue and the resultant degeneration of human existence. Martyrdom is for saints, but the common people have their institutions, and these cannot be left to grow like lilies of the field; Peter keeps drawing his sword, as in the garden, to defend the creator and sustainer of the world. The boon brought from the transcendent deep becomes quickly rationalized into nonentity, and the need becomes great for another hero to refresh the word. How teach again, however, what has been taught correctly and incorrectly learned a thousand thousand times, throughout the millenniums of mankind’s prudent folly? That is the hero’s ultimate difficult task. How render back into light-world language the speech-defying pronouncements of the dark? How represent on a two-dimensional surface a three-dimensional form, or in a three-dimensional image a multi-dimensional meaning? How translate into terms of “yes” and “no” revelations that shatter into meaninglessness every attempt to define the pairs of opposites? How communicate to people who insist on the exclusive evidence of their senses the message of the all-generating void?”” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The deep wisdom of the unconscious often clashes with practical, everyday reasoning, making true virtue hard to sustain in ordinary life. **In simple terms:** Deep insight conflicts with everyday practicality. Key Takeaway Bridge profound truth with everyday language. Themes wisdom virtue humanity heroism communication Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - public speaking - writing - artistic expression Key Concepts transcendence symbolism dualism mythic structure Questions to Reflect On - How can we convey complex ideas without losing meaning? - What methods preserve depth while being understandable? A Different Perspective The abstract nature of deep truth resists simple translation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Common people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-people/) [Deep Prudence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-prudence-1044569/) [Difficult task](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-task/) [Human existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-existence/) [Prudence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prudence/) [Sand Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sand-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Transcendent Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendent-deep-1044570/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wisdom Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom-brought-1044571/) ## Related quotes > [It is costly wisdom that is brought by experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-costly-wisdom-that-is-brought-by-experience/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [“Your power is in your story and all the wisdom it has brought you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-mayah-solstice/your-power-is-in-your-story-and-all-the-wisdom-it-has-brought-you/) [Angela Mayah Solstice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-mayah-solstice/) > [How teach again, however, what has been taught correctly and incorrectly learned a thousand thousand times, throughout the millenniums of mankind's prudent folly? That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-teach-again-however-what-has-been-taught-correctly-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/one-of-the-most-difficult-tasks-men-can-perform-however-much-others/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [In emerging markets, slow growth in the advanced economies has shut down a traditional development path: export-led growth. As a result, emerging markets have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghuram-rajan/in-emerging-markets-slow-growth-in-the-advanced-economies-has-shut/) [Raghuram Rajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghuram-rajan/) > [“One thing about creative work is that it’s never done. In different words, every person we interviewed said that it was equally true that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-henry/one-thing-about-creative-work-is-that-it-s-never-done-in-different/) [Todd Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-henry/) > [The question really is how do we get Embassy Officers into the minds of the American business community. That is a much more difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-eagleburger/the-question-really-is-how-do-we-get-embassy-officers-into-the-minds/) [Lawrence Eagleburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-eagleburger/) > [If architecture had nothing to do with art, it would be astonishingly easy to build houses, but the architect's task - his most difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-jacobsen/if-architecture-had-nothing-to-do-with-art-it-would-be-astonishingly/) [Arne Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-jacobsen/) > [“recognition that most of what is generally considered the truth is entirely relative. Subject and object are not as distinct as most people think.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/recognition-that-most-of-what-is-generally-considered-the-truth-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Sometimes, I feel promoting a film is a more difficult task than acting!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emraan-hashmi/sometimes-i-feel-promoting-a-film-is-a-more-difficult-task-than-acting/) [Emraan Hashmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emraan-hashmi/) > [Do it the hard way! Think ahead of your job. Then nothing in the world can keep the job ahead from reaching out for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlow-curtice/do-it-the-hard-way-think-ahead-of-your-job-then-nothing-in-the-world/) [Harlow Curtice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlow-curtice/) > [How difficult the task to quench the fire and the pride of private ambition, and to sacrifice ourselves and all our hopes and expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-adams/how-difficult-the-task-to-quench-the-fire-and-the-pride-of-private/) [Abigail Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-adams/) > [Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/be-of-good-cheer-do-not-think-of-today-s-failures-but-of-the-success/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There must always remain, however, from the standpoint of normal waking consciousness, a certain baffling inconsistency between the wisdom brought forth from the deep, and the prudence usually found to be effective in the light world. Hence the common divorce of opportunism from virtue and the resultant degeneration of human existence. Martyrdom is for saints, but the common people have their institutions, and these cannot be left to grow like lilies of the field; Peter keeps drawing his sword, as in the garden, to defend the creator and sustainer of the world. The boon brought from the transcendent deep becomes quickly rationalized into nonentity, and the need becomes great for another hero to refresh the word. How teach again, however, what has been taught correctly and incorrectly learned a thousand thousand times, throughout the millenniums of mankind’s prudent folly? That is the hero’s ultimate difficult task. How render back into light-world language the speech-defying pronouncements of the dark? How represent on a two-dimensional surface a three-dimensional form, or in a three-dimensional image a multi-dimensional meaning? How translate into terms of “yes” and “no” revelations that shatter into meaninglessness every attempt to define the pairs of opposites? How communicate to people who insist on the exclusive evidence of their senses the message of the all-generating void?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/there-must-always-remain-however-from-the-standpoint-of-normal-waking/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/there-must-always-remain-however-from-the-standpoint-of-normal-waking/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0a/joseph-campbell-300_character_there-must-always-remain-however-from-th_1689909.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0a/joseph-campbell-300_character_there-must-always-remain-however-from-th_1689909.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0a/joseph-campbell-300_character_there-must-always-remain-however-from-th_1689909.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There must always remain, however, from the standpoint of normal waking consciousness, a certain baffling…” — Joseph Campbell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joseph Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There must always remain, however, from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/there-must-always-remain-however-from-the-standpoint-of-normal-waking/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/there-must-always-remain-however-from-the-standpoint-of-normal-waking/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```