Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Sheldon B. Kopp

Quote by Sheldon B. Kopp

“It is as if we are all tempted to view ourselves as men on horseback. The horse represents a lusty animal-way of living, untrammeled by reason, unguided by purpose. The rider represents independent, impartial thought, a sort of pure cold intelligence. Too often the pilgrim lives as though his goal is to become the horseman who would break the horse's spirit so that he can control him, so that he may ride safely and comfortably wherever he wishes to go. If he does not wish to struggle for discipline, it is because he believes that his only options will be either to live the lusty, undirected life of the riderless horse, or to tread the detached, unadventuresome way of the horseless rider. If neither of these, then he must be the rider struggling to gain control of his rebellious mount. He does not see that there will be no struggle, once he recognizes himself as a centaur.”

Quote by Sheldon B. Kopp

Work

Author

Sheldon B. Kopp
Sheldon B. Kopp

Sheldon B. Kopp was an American author recognized for his works in psychology and self-help. Born on March 29, 1929, and passing away on the same day in 1999, Kopp's writing centered on personal growth and self-improvement, providing insights and guidance to readers looking to enhance their lives. more

You May Also Like

“Poetry, just like life, is never what we want it to be.”

“It used to be that I would look for the deeper meaning in everything, thinking that I was some kind of hermeneutic sleuth moving through the world, but I stopped that when I was twelve. Though I would have been unable to articulate it then, I have since come to recognize that I was abandoning any search for elucidation of what might be called subjective or thematic meaning schemes and replacing it with a mere delineation of specific case descriptions, from which I, at least, could make inferences, however unconscious, that would allow me to understand the world as it affected me. In other words, I learned to take the world as it came. In other words still, I just didn’t care.”