The Greeks understood the mysterious power of the hidden side of things. They bequeathed to us one of the most beautiful words in our language — the word "enthusiasm" — en theos [Εν Θεος] — a god within. The grandeur of human actions is measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who bears a god within and obeys it.
 • As quoted in The Ghost in the Machine (1967) by Arthur Koestler, p. 220
• Variant translations:
• The Greeks have given us one of the most beautiful words of our language, the word "enthusiasm" Εν Θεος .— a God within. The grandeur of the acts of men are measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who bears a God within.
• As quoted in Spiritual Literacy : Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life (1998) by Frederic Brussat and Mary Ann Brussat
• The Greeks understood the mysterious power of the underside of things. They are the ones who gave us one of the most beautiful words in our language, the word enthusiasm. — Εν Θεος — A God within.
• The Greeks had understood the mysterious power of the underside of things. It is they who have left us one of the most beautiful words of our language, the word enthusiasm. — Εν Θεος. — An inner God.

''Les Grecs avaient compris la mystérieuse puissance de ce dessous de choses. Ce sont eux qui nous ont légué un des plus beaux mots de notre langue, le mot enthousiasme. — Εν Θεος. — Un Dieu intérieur.

— Louis Pasteur

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "''Les Grecs avaient compris la mystérieuse puissance de ce dessous de choses. Ce sont eux qui nous ont légué un des plus beaux mots de notre langue, le mot enthousiasme. — Εν Θεος. — Un Dieu intérieur." in the context of "The Greeks understood the mysterious power of the hidden side of things. They bequeathed to us one of the most beautiful words in our language — the word "enthusiasm" — en theos [Εν Θεος] — a god within. The grandeur of human actions is measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who bears a god within and obeys it.
 • As quoted in The Ghost in the Machine (1967) by Arthur Koestler, p. 220
• Variant translations:
• The Greeks have given us one of the most beautiful words of our language, the word "enthusiasm" Εν Θεος .— a God within. The grandeur of the acts of men are measured by the inspiration from which they spring. Happy is he who bears a God within.
• As quoted in Spiritual Literacy : Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life (1998) by Frederic Brussat and Mary Ann Brussat
• The Greeks understood the mysterious power of the underside of things. They are the ones who gave us one of the most beautiful words in our language, the word enthusiasm. — Εν Θεος — A God within.
• The Greeks had understood the mysterious power of the underside of things. It is they who have left us one of the most beautiful words of our language, the word enthusiasm. — Εν Θεος. — An inner God." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Louis Pasteur" (Quotes, Discours de réception de Louis Pasteur (1882): Lecture delivered after the death of Émile Littré, when Pasteur as a result was elected a member of the French Academy. · Discours de réception de Louis Pasteur (27 April 1882) ) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Louis Pasteur

About Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur (27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) French microbiologist, chemist, pioneer of the "Germ theory of disease", discoverer of molecular asymmetry and stereo-chemistry, and inventor of the process of Pasteurization.