--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is necessary for us to explain the…" description: "\"It is necessary for us to explain the involuntary repugnance we possess for the nature and personality of the Jews. The Jews have never produced a true..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ec/richard-wagner-7708_civilization_it-is-necessary-for-us-to-explain-the-in_1309791.jpg" --- # It is necessary for us to explain the involuntary… ![“It is necessary for us to explain the involuntary repugnance we possess for the nature and personality of the Jews. The Jews have never produced a true poet. Heinrich Heine reached the point where he duped himself into a poet, and was rewarded by his versified lies being set to music by our own…” quote by Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ec/richard-wagner-7708_civilization_it-is-necessary-for-us-to-explain-the-in_1309791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ec/richard-wagner-7708_civilization_it-is-necessary-for-us-to-explain-the-in_1309791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ec/richard-wagner-7708_civilization_it-is-necessary-for-us-to-explain-the-in_1309791.jpg) > “It is necessary for us to explain the involuntary repugnance we possess for the nature and personality of the Jews. The Jews have never produced a true poet. Heinrich Heine reached the point where he duped himself into a poet, and was rewarded by his versified lies being set to music by our own composers. He was the conscience of Judaism, just as Judaism is the evil conscience of our modern civilization.” [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author expresses hateful stereotypes about Jews, claiming they lack poetic talent and are a moral burden. **In simple terms:** Hate speech dehumanizes a group. Key Takeaway Reject prejudice, promote empathy. Themes prejudice anti‑semitism culture Mood somber critical Type historical controversial When to use this quote - education - public discourse - media analysis - community building Key Concepts sociology ethics Questions to Reflect On - Why do stereotypes persist? - How can societies counter hate rhetoric? A Different Perspective Such statements are rooted in bigotry and falsehoods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Composers Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composers-conscience-4329228/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Conscience Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience-judaism-4329225/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heinrich-heine-225634/) [Involuntary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involuntary/) [Jew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jew/) [Jews Produced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jews-produced-4329227/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Judaism Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism-evil-4329226/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-civilization/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Personality Jews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality-jews-4329224/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“Dusseldorf'ta Universite Ogrenimi Aylardan huzunlu kasimdi, Gunler kasvetli, Ruzgar koparirken agaclardan yapraklari Yola ciktim Almanya'ya dogru. Sinira vardigimda Hissettim kalbimdeki guclu carpintiyi, Gozlerimden yaslar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dusseldorf-ta-universite-ogrenimi-aylardan-huzunlu-kasimdi-gunler/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“as in Heinrich Heine’s (a contemporary of Kierkegaard’s) well-known saying that one should value above everything else ‘freedom, equality and crab soup’. ‘Crab soup’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/as-in-heinrich-heine-s-a-contemporary-of-kierkegaard-s-well-known/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Heinrich Heine so loosened the corsets of the German language that today every little salesman can fondle her breasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/heinrich-heine-so-loosened-the-corsets-of-the-german-language-that/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [“Allí donde se queman libros, se acaba quemando gente. 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I often make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-harrison/statues-are-one-of-the-ways-i-try-to-test-the-traditions-of-european/) [Tony Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-harrison/) > [“And if the little flowers knew how deeply wounded my heart is They would weep with me to heal my pain. —“AND IF THE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-elsner/and-if-the-little-flowers-knew-how-deeply-wounded-my-heart-is-they/) [Alan Elsner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-elsner/) ## More by Richard Wagner > [Joy is not in things; it is in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/joy-is-not-in-things-it-is-in-us/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [My destiny is solitude, and my life is work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/my-destiny-is-solitude-and-my-life-is-work/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [In contrast to reincarnation and karma, all other views seem petty and narrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/in-contrast-to-reincarnation-and-karma-all-other-views-seem-petty-and/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [The oldest, truest, most beautiful organ of music, the origin to which alone our music owes its being, is the human voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/the-oldest-truest-most-beautiful-organ-of-music-the-origin-to-which/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [Any so-called stimulus program is a ruse. The government can increase its spending only by reducing private spending equivalently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/any-so-called-stimulus-program-is-a-ruse-the-government-can-increase/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [I hate this fast growing tendency to chain men to machines in big factories and deprive them of all joy in their efforts -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/i-hate-this-fast-growing-tendency-to-chain-men-to-machines-in-big/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [What a wonderful work Wagner has done for humanity in translating the toil of life into the readable script of music! For those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/what-a-wonderful-work-wagner-has-done-for-humanity-in-translating-the/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [Here, everything is tragic through and through, and the will, that fain would shape a world according to its wish, at last can reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/here-everything-is-tragic-through-and-through-and-the-will-that-fain/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [The error in the art-genre of Opera consists herein: a Means of expression (Music) has been made the end, while the End of expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/the-error-in-the-art-genre-of-opera-consists-herein-a-means-of/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [I have only a mind to live, to enjoy - i.e., to work as an artist, and produce my works; but not for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/i-have-only-a-mind-to-live-to-enjoy-i-e-to-work-as-an-artist-and/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [Richard Wagner, a musician who wrote music which is better than it sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/richard-wagner-a-musician-who-wrote-music-which-is-better-than-it/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [...you know my faithfulness to you, never can another own my heart, never - never - never...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/you-know-my-faithfulness-to-you-never-can-another-own-my-heart-never/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [From its first faint glimmerings, History shews Man's constant progress as a beast of prey. As such he conquers every land, subdues the fruit-fed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/from-its-first-faint-glimmerings-history-shews-man-s-constant/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [When religion becomes artificial, art has a duty to rescue it. Art can show that the symbols which religions would have us believe literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/when-religion-becomes-artificial-art-has-a-duty-to-rescue-it-art-can/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [The measures and acts which show us violently disposed towards the outer world can never stay without a violent reaction on ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/the-measures-and-acts-which-show-us-violently-disposed-towards-the/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) [Explore all 83 Richard Wagner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. 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