[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fnhv1nEBOz45I3Brt2Hs7KsM53RiIzR_xdb-3DW9zjAk":3,"$fC1qjdsc1zIVxtt6qVVbRKhbw1mbpGDtJ5oefI9k68Vw":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},53876,"Lion Feuchtwanger","L",33,null,"lion-feuchtwanger",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":78},[14,22,28,34,40,46,52,58,64,70],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3228962,"However small we made ourselves, we took space and air from our neighbours. We were a torment to one another.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":25,"source":26,"quote_tag":27,"commentary":9},3228954,"But one should not trust first impulses. Instinct is not always a safe counsellor by any means.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":29,"quote_text":30,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":31,"source":32,"quote_tag":33,"commentary":9},3228939,"It was not living, it was vegetation. We longed for death.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":35,"quote_text":36,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":9},3228930,"It has always been a blessed experience with me after an illness to feel that I was recovering.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":9},3228921,"There were of course exceptions, but on the whole the “intellectuals” among us withstood the hardships of the journey resignedly and patiently. They proved to be tougher, quieter, more uncomplaining than many men from other walks of life who were physically stronger and physically better trained.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":47,"quote_text":48,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":49,"source":50,"quote_tag":51,"commentary":9},3228910,"The years that had passed had displayed vividly before our eyes the fickleness of human attitudes.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":55,"source":56,"quote_tag":57,"commentary":9},3228892,"I am a slow worker, but I could have written at least two books more in the time that I have been obliged to spend waiting around public offices and in the back yards of recruiting stations – waiting unnecessarily for unnecessary things.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":59,"quote_text":60,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":61,"source":62,"quote_tag":63,"commentary":9},3228882,"Had I not been thinking always of the ludicrous aspects of my own plight, or of the plight of others, I could not have survived that depressing, degrading experience without spiritual harm.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":65,"quote_text":66,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":67,"source":68,"quote_tag":69,"commentary":9},3228826,"I am always thinking of that remark of Theodor Lessing, which I quoted earlier in this book, that history is “the art of giving meaning to the meaningless.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":71,"quote_text":72,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":73,"author":74,"source":75,"quote_tag":76,"commentary":77},3228811,"There’s only a step from the sublime to the ridiculous, but there’s no road leading from the ridiculous to the sublime.",true,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nLion Feuchtwanger, a German-Jewish writer and Nobel laureate, likely penned these words during his exile in California, USA (1933-1947). This period was marked by the rise of Nazism in Germany and the subsequent loss of his homeland. As an outsider looking at the chaos of European politics, he reflected on the fragility of human endeavors.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nFeuchtwanger's words reveal a counter-intuitive truth: the distinction between greatness (sublime) and absurdity (ridiculous) is precarious, yet there's no direct path to elevate from one to the other. This paradox highlights how easily our most ambitious endeavors can slide into farce when we misjudge the complexity of human nature.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, recognize that even in your most audacious pursuits, a slight miscalculation can lead to embarrassment or failure. Be prepared to pivot or retreat before investing too much emotional capital, as this allows you to reassess and correct course – preserving the essence of your original vision while avoiding its descent into absurdity.",{"currentPage":79,"totalPages":80,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":81},1,4,10]