Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Black Elk

Quote by Black Elk

Work

Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux

This book is a first-hand account of the author's spiritual awakening and his role as a medicine man within the Oglala Sioux tribe. It offers insights into the culture, traditions, and spiritual beliefs of the Oglala Sioux people. more

Author

Black Elk
Black Elk

Black Elk, whose real name was Netsahihoka, was a medicine man of the Omaha Sioux tribe. Born on December 1, 1863, and died on August 19, 1950, Black Elk is known for his profound spiritual insight and contributions to the Sioux culture. more

You May Also Like

“He was ruining it. Five minutes before, he’d looked at her with desire and she’d thought finally. Finally, someone saw her. Finally, someone wanted her and she would know what it was like to be a woman. She would know what it felt like to have another person’s hands on her. But now he looked at her with misplaced compassion. As if she were so desperate to get laid she had missed something. As if there was some man waiting in the wings. There wasn’t. This was it, her final chance for pleasure and with every question, with every word, he ruined it.”

“The True Man of ancient times knew nothing of loving life, knew nothing of hating death. He emerged without delight; he went back in without a fuss. He came briskly, he went briskly, and that was all. He didn't forget where he began; he didn't try to find out where he would end. He received something and took pleasure in it; he forgot about it and handed it back again.”

“Oh, keep your warnings and your fears for those giddy women who call themselves women of feeling, whose heated imaginations persuade them that nature has placed their senses in their heads; who, having never thought about it, invariably confuse love with a lover; who, with their stupid delusions, imagine that the man with whom they have found pleasure is pleasure's only source; and, like all the superstitious, accord that faith and respect to the priest which is due to only the divinity.”