Count Maurice Maeterlinck, Our S Quotes

A collection of quotes by Count Maurice Maeterlinck, Our S.

Count Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist born on August 29, 1862, in Ghent, Belgium. He is widely recognized as one of the foremost figures of Symbolist literature, a movement that emerged in the late 19th century and emphasized subjective experience, inner emotions, and mysticism.

Maeterlinck gained international acclaim with his play "The Intruder" (1890), but it was his later works that solidified his literary reputation. "The Blind" (1890) and "Pelléas et Mélisande" (1892) are among his most influential plays, characterized by their atmospheric settings, rich symbolism, and portrayal of human vulnerability.

Over the course of his career, Maeterlinck became associated with the decadent and spiritualist movements, exploring existential themes and the human condition in abstract and poetic ways. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, primarily for his drama, which the Swedish Academy referred to as portraying "the tragic in destiny."

In addition to his plays, Maeterlinck published numerous essays and philosophical works. His philosophical treatise, "The Treasure of the Humble" (1896), expressed his belief in the inherent wisdom of nature and advocated for a deeper understanding of the mysteries of life.

Count Maurice Maeterlinck's profound contributions to the Symbolist movement and his exploration of existential themes continue to influence literature and theatrical works to this day. He passed away on May 6, 1949, in Nice, France, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of literature.

At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the past. Let us have no fear lest the fair towers of former days be sufficiently defended. The least that the most timid among us can do is not to add to the immense dead weight which nature drags along.Let us not say to ourselves that the best truth always lies in moderation, in the decent average. This would perhaps be so if the majority of men did not think on a much lower plane than is needful. That is why it behooves others to think and hope on a higher plane than seems reasonable. The average, the decent moderation of today, will be the least human of things tomorrow. At the time of the Spanish Inquisition, the opinion of good sense and of the other good medium was certainly that people ought not to burn too large a number of heretics; extreme and unreasonable opinion obviously demanded that they should burn none at all.Let us think of the great invisible ship that carries our human destinies upon eternity. Like the vessels of our confined oceans, she has her sails and her ballast. The fear that she may pitch or roll on leaving the roadstead is no reason for increasing the weight of the ballast by stowing the fair white sails in the depths of the hold. Sails were not woven to molder side by side with cobblestones in the dark. Ballast exists everywhere; all the pebbles of the harbor, all the sand of the beach, will serve for that. But sails are rare and precious things; their place is not in the murk of the well, but amid the light of the tall masts, where they will collect the winds of space.

Count Maurice Maeterlinck, Our S