Quote #43

Matter possesses gravity in virtue of its tendency towards a central point. It is essentially composite; consisting of parts that exclude each other. It seeks its Unity; and therefore exhibits itself as self-destructive, as verging towards its opposite ... Spirit, on the contrary, may be defined as that which has its centre in itself. It has not a unity outside itself, but has already found it; it exists in and with itself. Matter has its essence out of itself; Spirit is self-contained existence (Bei-sich-selbst-seyn).

More from Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel

  1. As the essence of Matter is Gravity, so, on the other hand, we may affirm that the substance, the essence of Spirit is Freedom. All will re…
  2. Two things must be distinguished in consciousness; first, the fact that I know; secondly, what I know. In self consciousness these are merg…
  3. The present is not the occasion for unfolding the idea of Spirit speculatively; for whatever has a place in an Introduction, must, as alrea…
  4. The History of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of Freedom; a progress whose development according to the nec…
  5. On the stage on which we are observing it, - Universal History - Spirit displays itself in its most concrete reality.
  6. The destiny of the spiritual World, and, - since this is the substantial World, while the physical remains subordinate to it, or, in the la…
  7. It must be observed at the outset, that the phenomenon we investigate - Universal History - belongs to the realm of Spirit. The term 'World…
  8. Although Freedom is, primarily, an undeveloped idea, the means it uses are external and phenomenal; presenting themselves in History to our…

All Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel quotes