Apotheosis is not The origin of the major man. He comes, Compact in invincible foils, from reason, Lighted at midnight by the studious eye, Swaddled in revery, the object of The hum of thoughts evaded in the mind...
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Great figures arise from reason and thought, not from divine origin.
- In plain terms
- Great people come from reason not gods.
- What can you take from it?
- Reason produces great people.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where do great leaders come from?
- Does reason create leaders?
Another view
It ignores emotional or cultural origins.
More from Wallace Stevens
The romantic intoning, the declaimed clairvoyance Are parts of apotheosis, appropriate And of its nature, the idiom thereof.
Permalink to quote #114 My dame, sing for this person accurate songs.
Permalink to quote #116 He might take habit, whether from wave or phrase, Or power of the wave, or deepened speech, Or a leaner being, moving in on him, Of greater aptitude and appreh…
Permalink to quote #113
Related quotes
All things are from God; and above all, reason and imagination and the great gifts of the mind. They are good in themselves; and we must not altogether forget …
Gilbert Keith ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton quote #170 The only business of the head in the world is to bow a ceaseless obeisance to the heart.
William Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats quote #1 Reason, or the ratio of all we have already known, is not the same that it shall be when we know more.
William BlakeWilliam Blake quote #1