Human, All Too Human, Part 142 summary
Part 142 of 152 · 2 min to read the part
In 142, the narrator explains the saint’s admired inner state through familiar impulses toward domination, self-punishment, rest, excitement, and gratification. Religious ideas turn otherwise condemned feelings into signs of holiness, while the closing observation from Novalis links gratification, religion, and cruelty through a shared tendency.
What happens
- The narrator argues that religious framing makes familiar, commonly condemned feelings appear admirable as signs of sanctity.
- The saint directs severity inward and seeks power by mastering his passions.
- He desires complete emotional stillness, then seeks inner conflict when boredom and weariness arise.
- He combines self-worship with self-contempt and turns the desire to dominate into extreme submission.
- Visions and imagined conversations provide gratification, and Novalis connects gratification, religion, and cruelty.
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In this part
What to notice
The sentence captures the saint’s movement between opposing judgments of himself. These extremes support the account of sanctity as a combination of familiar psychological impulses.
Quick check
Why does the saint seek inner conflict after desiring complete repose?
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