Quote by Heinrich Heine, Gedanken und Ein

Mine is a most peaceable disposition. My wishes are: a humble cottage with a thatched roof, but a good bed, good food, the freshest milk and butter, flowers before my window, and a few fine trees before my door; and if God wants to make my happiness complete, He will grant me the joy of seeing some six or seven of my enemies hanging from those trees.What Heine expresses as a kind of joke is, according to Freud, a deep psychological truth: along with the innate human drive for pleasure there is also an equally innate drive to inflict pain upon others. This impulse estranges people from one another and renders them decidedly antisocial.~ Lee Hardy, The Fabric of this World

Mine is a most peaceable disposition. My wishes are: a humbl

Summary

This quote by Heinrich Heine depicts a peaceful individual with modest desires for a simple and content life. However, there is a sarcastic remark hidden within, expressing the deeper human instinct to seek revenge or satisfaction from the suffering of their enemies. Sigmund Freud interprets this as a psychological truth, suggesting that humans possess an inherent drive for pleasure and also a desire to inflict pain upon others. This conflicting impulse creates a sense of alienation and anti-social behavior, detrimental to human relationships.

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By Heinrich Heine, Gedanken und Ein

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