The highest point a man can obtain is not Knowledge, or Virtue, or Goodness, or Victory, but something even greater, more heroic and more despairing: Sacred Awe!
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The ultimate human achievement is not intellectual or moral success, but a profound, heroic reverence for existence.
- In plain terms
- True greatness comes from feeling awe, not just knowing or being good.
- What can you take from it?
- Seek awe over achievement to reach the highest human state.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What inspires awe in you?
- How do you cultivate reverence?
Another view
Awe can sometimes lead to paralysis rather than action.
More from Nikos Kazantzakis
* What a strange machine man is! You fill him with bread, wine, fish, and radishes, and out comes sighs, laughter, and dreams.
Permalink to quote #134 My entire soul is a cry, and all my work the commentary on that cry.
Permalink to quote #136 As I watched the seagulls, I thought: 'That's the road to take; find the absolute rhythm and follow it with absolute trust.'
Permalink to quote #133
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