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Katabasis Quotes

Browse 6 quotes about Katabasis.

Katabasis Quotes

“With angry sulking men, the secret was holding your ground. You didn't get rebellious, no—that was asking for a slap to the face. But you didn't self-flagellate, either. When you acted like you ought to be whipped, that only confirmed to them that you should. One should never cower. The secret rather was to keep talking as if you deserved no punishment at all, and then to distract them with something they wanted more than they wanted to hurt you.”

“Pindar said, neither by land nor by sea shall you find us. Maybe you will have to fly to discover us. Or slither under the earth. Perhaps a great subterranean tunnel – the Underworld – will bring you to us. You must go down before you can come up. Katabasis, the going down, precedes anabasis, the going up. By the same token, the advance is followed by the retreat, the march forward so often turns into the march back. Even great Alexander learned that. Does descent precede ascent, or ascent precede descent?”

“Maslow emphasized the “heights”, but to get to the heights you must have the Dark Night of the soul, and make your trip to the Chapel Perilous. Katabasis means a going-down, a descent. It’s used to describe journeys to the underworld. Anabasis is its opposite, a going-up. You can only reach the spiritual heights if you have also known the spiritual depths.”

“I don't fucking read while l wait for something to happen in here. Someone to come in. I have to sit now. Most times, I try hard to sober the fuck up. Whereas before, when I was younger and thinner, I would just get in and out. Seeing nothing going on meant I would find the place and my situation absolutely intolerable. I sickened myself quicker and quicker each time. And I knew all about the kinds of fat mouth slobs that would sit there and wait for someone like me to chew on.”