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About this quote

What does it mean?
Dark times are approaching, and a new prophet will need to invent terrifying new symbols, making old apocalyptic images seem gentle.
In plain terms
Future crises will need new, frightening symbols.
What can you take from it?
Cultural symbols evolve with the severity of the times.

Where it applies

  • artistic expression
  • political rhetoric

Putting it to work

  • create relevant metaphors
  • anticipate societal anxieties

Questions to consider

  • What new symbols might emerge today?
  • How do symbols shape public perception of crises?

Another view

The metaphor may be hyperbolic and not predictive.

More from Heinrich Heine

  1. If one has no heart, one cannot write for the masses.

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  2. The future smells of Russian leather, of blood, of godlessness and of much whipping. I advise our grandchildren to come into the world with very thick skin on …

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  3. People in those old times had convictions; we moderns only have opinions. And it needs more than a mere opinion to erect a Gothic cathedral.

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