Ernest Renan. Vie de Jésus (The Life of Jesus) Ch. 17 (1863)
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Let us pardon him his hope of a vain apocalypse, and of a second coming in great triumph upon the clouds of heaven. Perhaps these were the errors of others rather than his own; and if it be true that he himself shared the general illusion, what matters it, since his dream rendered him strong against death, and sustained him in a struggle to which he might otherwise have been unequal?

— Ernest Renan on Apocalypse

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Let us pardon him his hope of a vain apocalypse, and of a second coming in great triumph upon the clouds of heaven. Perhaps these were the errors of others rather than his own; and if it be true that he himself shared the general illusion, what matters it, since his dream rendered him strong against death, and sustained him in a struggle to which he might otherwise have been unequal?" in the context of "Ernest Renan. Vie de Jésus (The Life of Jesus) Ch. 17 (1863)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Apocalypse" (Quotes: Sorted alphabetically by author or source) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Ernest Renan

About Ernest Renan

Ernest Renan (February 28, 1823 – October 12, 1892) was a French philosopher, playwright, historian, and writer.