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Joseph Campbell Quotes (1904-1987)
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About Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell (26 March 1904 β 30 October 1987) was an American professor, writer, and orator most famous for his work in the fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion.
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Joseph Campbell quotes.
βOut of perfection nothing can be made.β
βIt's only when a man tames his own demons that he becomes the king of himself if not of the world.β
βThe modern hero-deed must be that of questing to bring to light again the lost Atlantis of the co-ordinated soul.β
βIn the absence of an effective general mythology, each of us has his private, unrecognized, rudimentary, yet secretly potent pantheon of dreams.β
βIt is not only that there is no hiding place for the gods from the searching telescope and microscope; there is no such society any more as the gods once supported.β
βThere is no make-believe about heaven, future bliss, and compensation, to alleviate the bitter majesty, but only utter darkness, the void of unfulfillment, to receive and eat back the lives that have been tossed forth from the womb only to fail.β
βThis thing up here, this consciousness, thinks it's running the shop. It's a secondary organ. It's a secondary organ of a total human being, and it must not put itself in control. It must submit and serve the humanity of the body.β
βThe happy ending is justly scorned as a misrepresentation; for the world, as we know it, as we have seen it, yields but one ending; death, disintegration, dismemberment, and the crucifixion of our heart with the passing of the forms which we have loved.β
βFor when scrutinized in terms not of what it is but of how it functions, of how it has served mankind in the past, of how it may serve today, mythology shows itself to be as amenable as life itself to the obsessions and requirements of the individual, the race, the age.Β β
βNow, what is a myth? The dictionary definition of a myth would be stories about gods. So then you have to ask the next question: What is a god? A god is a personification of a motivating power or a value system that functions in human life and in the universe β the powers of your own body and of nature.β
βWherever the hero may wander, whatever he may do, he is ever in the presence of his own essence β for he has the perfected eye to see. There is no separateness. Thus, just as the way of social participation may lead in the end to a realization of the All in the individual, so that of exile brings the hero to the Self in all.β
βAll cultures β¦ have grown out of myths. They are founded on myths. What these myths have given has been inspiration for aspiration. The economic interpretation of history is for the birds. Economics is itself a function of aspiration. Itβs what people aspire to that creates the field in which economics works.β
βThe way to find out about your happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you really are happy-not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what I call "following your bliss."β
βMost curiously, the very scientist who, in the service of the sinful king, was the brain behind the horror of the labyrinth, quite as readily can serve the purposes of freedom. But the hero-heart must be at hand. ...He is the hero of the way of thoughtβsinglehearted, courageous, and full of faith that the truth, as he finds it, shall make us free.β
βThe achievement of the hero is one that he is ready for and it's really a manifestation of his character. It's amusing the way in which the landscape and conditions of the environment match the readiness of the hero. The adventure that he is ready for is the one that he gets β¦ The adventure evoked a quality of his character that he didn't know he possessed.β
Joseph Campbell Quotes by Topic
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Joseph Campbell on Religion 2 quotes
View all 2 quotes on Religion →Joseph Campbell on Sanskrit
Joseph Campbell on Light
Joseph Campbell on Abomination
Joseph Campbell on Computers
Joseph Campbell on Identity
βWhen people get married because they think it's a long-time love affair, they'll be divorced very soon, because all love affairs end in disappointment. But marriage is a recognition of a spiritual identity.β
Joseph Campbell on Recognition
βWhen people get married because they think it's a long-time love affair, they'll be divorced very soon, because all love affairs end in disappointment. But marriage is a recognition of a spiritual identity.β
Joseph Campbell on Existence
βAnd where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; Where we had thought to travel outward, we will come to the center of our own existence; where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.β
Joseph Campbell on I Ching
βThe Book of Changes, in a word, is a kind of geometry of mythology... It tells of the readiness of time and the art of moving with its tides, rocking with the waves, and is the most important statement remaining to us of that aspect of ancient Chinese thought which relates the individual to the order of the outer world.β
Joseph Campbell on The All
βWherever the hero may wander, whatever he may do, he is ever in the presence of his own essence β for he has the perfected eye to see. There is no separateness. Thus, just as the way of social participation may lead in the end to a realization of the All in the individual, so that of exile brings the hero to the Self in all.β
Joseph Campbell on Meaning of life
βPeople say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That's what it's all finally about.β
What Joseph Campbell Said About Others
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Quotes About Joseph Campbell
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Bill Moyers on Joseph Campbell 7 quotes
β"You're talking about a search for the meaning of life?" I asked. "No, no, no," he said. "For the experience of being alive."β
Disputed Quotes
Quotes attributed to Joseph Campbell that are questionable.
βMyth is much more important and true than history. History is just journalism and you know how reliable that is.β
About Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell (26 March 1904 β 30 October 1987) was an American professor, writer, and orator most famous for his work in the fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion.