Quote by Sigmund Freud
...observe the difference between your attitude to illusions and mine. You have to defend the religious illusion with all your might. If it becomes discredited - and indeed the threat to it is great enough - then your world collapses. There is nothing left for you but to despair of everything, of civilization and the future of mankind. From that bondage I am, we are, free. Since we are prepared to renounce a good part of our infantile wishes, we can bear it if a few of our expectations turn out to be illusions.
Summary
This quote highlights the contrasting attitudes towards illusions. The speaker emphasizes that while some individuals fiercely defend religious illusions, any discrediting of these illusions would cause their world to collapse and lead them to despair. In contrast, the speaker and those like them are freed from the bondage of such illusions. By renouncing infantile wishes and being willing to accept that some expectations may be illusions, they can endure disillusionment without losing hope for civilization and the future of humanity.
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