Add Quote by Remy de Gourmont
“Extraordinarily excessive sensuality it may be .. but it all comes down to the same thing in the end, and one means is surely as good as another, since the end obtained is always the same. In any case the exceptional, endlessly repeated, is no different than the banal; and unceasing recapitulation can add nothing, in the end, to the sum of experience. I am weary and hopeless three times the dupe. Why have you trained me in the shame of abominable sins?”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Banal and the Exceptional,” 1905
All experiences, whether extraordinary or ordinary, ultimately converge to the same end, rendering excess and novelty meaningless.
In simple terms: All things end the same, making excess pointless.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the futility of seeking novelty for its own sake.
Themes
existentialism
meaning
experience
novelty
Mood
thoughtful
skeptical
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- art criticism
- personal growth
- daily routines
- creative work
Key Concepts
Banal
Exceptional
repetition
experience
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do we chase novelty?
- What value, you find in the ordinary?
A Different Perspective
Excess can still provide temporary joy despite its ultimate sameness.
![“The point of recapitulation in the first movement of the Ninth [Symphony of Beethoven] is one of the most horrifying moments in music, as the carefully prepared cadence is frustrated, damming up energy which finally explodes in the throttling, murderous rage of a rapist incapable of attaining…” quote by Susan McClary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cc5/susan-mcclary-50001_cadence_the-point-of-recapitulation-in-the-first_1498487.jpg)
