--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The primitive man experiences “soul,”…" description: "\"“The primitive man experiences “soul,” first in other men and then in himself, as a Numen, just as he knows numina of the outer world, and develops his..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/oswald-spengler-8727_primitive_the-primitive-man-experiences-soul-first_984137.png" --- # The primitive man experiences “soul,” first in other men… ![“The primitive man experiences “soul,” first in other men and then in himself, as a Numen, just as he knows numina of the outer world, and develops his impressions in mythological form. His words for these things are symbols, sounds, not descriptive of the indescribable but indicative of it for him…” quote by Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/oswald-spengler-8727_primitive_the-primitive-man-experiences-soul-first_984137.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/oswald-spengler-8727_primitive_the-primitive-man-experiences-soul-first_984137.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/oswald-spengler-8727_primitive_the-primitive-man-experiences-soul-first_984137.png) > ““The primitive man experiences “soul,” first in other men and then in himself, as a Numen, just as he knows numina of the outer world, and develops his impressions in mythological form. His words for these things are symbols, sounds, not descriptive of the indescribable but indicative of it for him who hath ears to hear.”” [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early humans first sensed the sacred in others, then in themselves, forming myths and symbols to convey the ineffable. **In simple terms:** Ancient people felt the divine in each other, creating myths. Key Takeaway Explore symbolic language to grasp deeper truths. Themes mythology spirituality human consciousness Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical cultural When to use this quote - religious rituals - artistic expression - cultural storytelling - personal meditation Key Concepts anthropology symbolic studies Questions to Reflect On - What symbols resonate with your inner experience? - How do myths shape your worldview? A Different Perspective Modern rationalism may dismiss symbolic meaning as superstition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiences Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences-soul-1971844/) [Impressions Mythological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressions-mythological-1971843/) [Man Experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-experiences-1897619/) [Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive/) [Primitive man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive-man/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [“If time and money were no object and I did not have to seek anyone’s permission, what kinds of experiences would my soul crave?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishen-lakhiani/if-time-and-money-were-no-object-and-i-did-not-have-to-seek-anyone-s/) [Vishen Lakhiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishen-lakhiani/) > [“The soul in customer experiences with soul is the essence of a business and we encounter the essence through each and every part, be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-robinson/the-soul-in-customer-experiences-with-soul-is-the-essence-of-a/) [Simon Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-robinson/) > [If we can combine our knowledge of science with the wisdom of wildness, if we can nurture civilization through roots in the primitive, man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-we-can-combine-our-knowledge-of-science-with-the-wisdom-of-2/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [When primitive man heard thunder or saw the lightning, he could not account for either, and therefore concluded that back of them must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/when-primitive-man-heard-thunder-or-saw-the-lightning-he-could-not/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [We have grown from primitive man into modern ways and are now looking for modern humans from merely primitive choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-fennis/we-have-grown-from-primitive-man-into-modern-ways-and-are-now-looking/) [Alexander Fennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-fennis/) > [ By nature, by necessity itself, \[primitive man\] is encyclopedic, while civilized man finds himself confined in the infinitely small regions of specialization. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/by-nature-by-necessity-itself-primitive-man-is-encyclopedic-while/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [There can be no doubt ... of our dependence upon forces beyond our control. Primitive man was so impotent in the face of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/there-can-be-no-doubt-of-our-dependence-upon-forces-beyond-our/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Death is not regarded as a natural affair by primitive man. 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The primitive man in the wolf-pelt was not keeping dry; he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hamnett/the-origins-of-clothing-are-not-practical-they-are-mystical-and/) [Katharine Hamnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hamnett/) > [Financiers are great mythomaniacs, their explanations and superstitions are those of primitive men; the world is a jungle to them.They perceive acutely that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/financiers-are-great-mythomaniacs-their-explanations-and/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [If we can combine our knowledge of science with the wisdom of wildness, if we can nurture civilization through roots in the primitive, man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-we-can-combine-our-knowledge-of-science-with-the-wisdom-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [We are used to thinking of the Arabs as primitive men of the desert, as a donkey-like nation that neither sees nor understands what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahad-ha-am/we-are-used-to-thinking-of-the-arabs-as-primitive-men-of-the-desert/) [Ahad Ha'am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahad-ha-am/) ## More by Oswald Spengler > [To-day a democrat of the old school would demand, not freedom for the press, but freedom from the press; but mean-time the leaders have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/to-day-a-democrat-of-the-old-school-would-demand-not-freedom-for-the/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [“Man was, and is, too shallow and cowardly to endure the fact of the mortality of everything living. He wraps it up in rose-coloured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/man-was-and-is-too-shallow-and-cowardly-to-endure-the-fact-of-the/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [To-day we live so cowed under the bombardment of this intellectual artillery that hardly anyone can attain to the inward detachment that is required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/to-day-we-live-so-cowed-under-the-bombardment-of-this-intellectual/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [When three liberals get together they form a new party; that is their idea of individualism. 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The important thing is what the collective instinct eventually makes of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/it-doesn-t-really-matter-what-one-writes-into-a-constitution-the/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [“Once upon a time, Freedom and Necessity were identical; but now what is understood by freedom is in fact indiscipline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/once-upon-a-time-freedom-and-necessity-were-identical-but-now-what-is/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) > [History is direction—but Nature is extension—ergo, everyone gets eaten by a bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/history-is-direction-but-nature-is-extension-ergo-everyone-gets-eaten/) [Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) [Explore all 75 Oswald Spengler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/) ## More Primitive quotes > [Life on a small farm might seem primitive, but by living such a life we become able to discover the Great Path. I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masanobu-fukuoka/life-on-a-small-farm-might-seem-primitive-but-by-living-such-a-life/) [Masanobu Fukuoka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masanobu-fukuoka/) > [Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/don-t-ever-for-a-minute-make-the-mistake-of-looking-down-your-nose-at/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link-between-wild-and-cultivated/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Recently a study proved that working from a larger, less cluttered computer screen increases concentration. I could have told them that. 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