Johann Georg Hamann quotes

Johann Georg Hamann was a German philosopher and writer known for his influence on the Counter-Enlightenment. His works challenged the rationalism of his time and emphasized the importance of faith, emotion, and language. He inspired later thinkers with his distinctive style and profound insights into human nature. Here are 28 of his quotes:

Being, belief and reason are pure relations, which cannot be dealt with absolutely, and are not things but pure scholastic concepts, signs for understanding, not for worshipping, aids to awaken our attention, not to fetter it.

Johann Georg Hamann

Not only the entire ability to think rests on language... but language is also the crux of the misunderstanding of reason with itself.

Johann Georg Hamann

If only I was as eloquent as Demosthenes, I would have to do no more than repeat a single word three times. Reason is language - Logos; I gnaw on this marrowbone and will gnaw myself to death over it. It is still always dark over these depths for me: I am still always awaiting an apocalyptic angel with a key to this abyss.

Johann Georg Hamann

Without language we would have no reason, without reason no religion, and without these three essential aspects of our nature, neither mind nor bond of society.

Johann Georg Hamann

A thirsty ambition for truth and virtue, and a frenzy to conquer all lies and vices which are not recognized as such nor desire to be; herein consists the heroic spirit of the philosopher.

Johann Georg Hamann

The philosophers have always given truth a bill of divorce, by separating what nature has joined together and vice versa.

Johann Georg Hamann

Self knowledge begins with the neighbor, the mirror, and just the same with true self-love; that goes from the mirror to the matter.

Johann Georg Hamann

Few authors understand themselves, and a proper reader must not only understand his author but also be able to see beyond him.

Johann Georg Hamann

Nature is a book, a letter, a fairy tale (in the philosophical sense) or whatever you want to call it.

Johann Georg Hamann

All human wisdom works and has worries and grief as reward.

Johann Georg Hamann

The thirst for vengeance was the beautiful nature which Homer imitated.

Johann Georg Hamann

The product of paper and printed ink, that we commonly call the book, is one of the great visible mediators between spirit and time, and, reflecting zeitgeist, lasts as long as ore and stone.

Johann Georg Hamann

Through a vicious circle of pure reason skepsis itself becomes dogma.

Johann Georg Hamann

Every phenomenon of nature was a word, - the sign, symbol and pledge of a new, mysterious, inexpressible but all the more intimate union, participation and community of divine energies and ideas. Everything the human being heard from the beginning, saw with its eyes, looked upon and touched with its hands was a living word; for God was the word.

Johann Georg Hamann

Our reason arises, at the very least, from this twofold lesson of sensuous revelations and human testimonies.

Johann Georg Hamann

The weakness of ourselves and of our reason makes us see flaws in beauties by making us consider everything piece by piece.

Johann Georg Hamann

Everything is vain and tortures the spirit instead of calming and satisfying it.

Johann Georg Hamann

A writer who is in a hurry to be understood today or tomorrow runs the danger of being misunderstood the day after tomorrow.

Johann Georg Hamann

What good to me is the festive garment of freedom when I am in a slave's smock at home?

Johann Georg Hamann

Everything the human being heard from the beginning, saw with its eyes, looked upon and touched with its hands was a living word; for God was the word.

Johann Georg Hamann

Every phenomenon of nature was a word, - the sign, symbol and pledge of a new, mysterious, inexpressible but all the more intimate union, participation and community of divine energies and ideas.

Johann Georg Hamann

Thus the public use of reason and freedom is nothing but a dessert, a sumptuous dessert.

Johann Georg Hamann