Above all human existence requires stability, the permanence of things. The result is an ambivalence with respect to all great and violent expenditure of strength; such an expenditure, whether in nature or in man, represents the strongest possible threat. The feelings of admiration and of ecstasy induced by them thus mean that we are concerned to admire them from afar. The sun corresponds to that prudent concern. It is all radiance gigantic loss of heat and light, flame, explosion; but remote from men, who can enjoy in safety and quiet the fruits of this cataclysm. To earth belongs the solidity which sustains houses of stone and the steps of men (at least on its surface, for buried within the depths of the earth is the incandescence of lava). Georges Bataille
About This Quote

The above quote is from Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It explains that the feeling of admiration and of ecstasy induced by natural phenomena such as the sun and volcanos, or people like Napoleon and Alexander the Great, refers to a concern for men. We admire this from afar. The sun and volcanos belong to earth, while we benefit from their energy on earth. However, we must be careful not to forget that they are also dangerous because their strength involves destruction.

Source: Van Gogh As Prometheus

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