Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.

Quote by Sigmund Freud

Topics: Sigmund Freud Quotes

The tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man... it constitutes the...

The tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man... it constitutes the...

Everywhere I go I find that a poet has been there before me.

Everywhere I go I find that a poet has been there before me.

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a...

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a...

Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.

Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.

The ego is not master in its own house.

The ego is not master in its own house.

Religious ideas have sprung from the same need as all the other achievements of culture:...

Religious ideas have sprung from the same need as all the other achievements of culture:...

The doctor should be opaque to his patients and, like a mirror, should show them...

The doctor should be opaque to his patients and, like a mirror, should show them...

What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now...

What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now...

Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are...

Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are...

We have to distinguish two classes of instincts, one of which, the sexual instincts or...

We have to distinguish two classes of instincts, one of which, the sexual instincts or...

America is a mistake, a giant mistake.

America is a mistake, a giant mistake.

Obviously one must hold oneself responsible for the evil impulses of one's dreams. In what...

Obviously one must hold oneself responsible for the evil impulses of one's dreams. In what...

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy...

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy...

One must not be mean with the affections; what is spent of the fund is...

One must not be mean with the affections; what is spent of the fund is...

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

A man should not strive to eliminate his complexes but to get into accord with...

A man should not strive to eliminate his complexes but to get into accord with...

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a...

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a...

If you can't do it, give up!

If you can't do it, give up!

A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them...

A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them...

We are never so defensless against suffering as when we love.

We are never so defensless against suffering as when we love.