Flower Quote by Thomas Mann
““No, not of course at all—it is really all hocus-pocus. The days lengthen in the winter-time, and when the longest comes, the twenty-first of June, the beginning of summer, they begin to go downhill again, toward winter. You call that ‘of course’; but if one once loses hold of the fact that it is of course, it is quite frightening, you feel like hanging on to something. It seems like a practical joke—that spring begins at the beginning of winter, and autumn at the beginning of summer. You feel you’re being fooled, led about in a circle, with your eye fixed on something that turns out to be a moving point. A moving point in a circle. For the circle consists of nothing but such transitional points without any extent whatever; the curvature is incommensurable, there is no duration of motion, and eternity turns out to be not ‘straight ahead’ but ‘merry-go-round’!””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann, 1924
The passage reflects on the illusion of linear time, suggesting that seasons and life are cyclical, making certainty unsettling.
In simple terms: Time feels circular, not straight.
Key Takeaway
Accept uncertainty and embrace life's cycles.
Themes
philosophy
perception
time
existence
Mood
thoughtful
curious
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- reading literature
- philosophical contemplation
- discussing time perception
Key Concepts
circular time
relativism
existential dread
Questions to Reflect On
- How does viewing time as cyclical affect your sense of purpose?
- Can you find comfort in life's repetitions?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may oversimplify complex temporal experience.
