Emily ☕’s Reviews > The Secret History > Status Update
Emily ☕
is on page 42 of 559
"We think we have many desires, but in fact we have only one. What is it?"
This moment is interesting because it focuses on the self.
The book says "To live forever" but I think it is more "To benefit". Can someone convince me that the former is more correct? Why would it be, when - if we are speaking of the self - those who reflect want some parts of it to die?
— Jul 20, 2026 04:58AM
This moment is interesting because it focuses on the self.
The book says "To live forever" but I think it is more "To benefit". Can someone convince me that the former is more correct? Why would it be, when - if we are speaking of the self - those who reflect want some parts of it to die?
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Emily ☕’s Previous Updates
Emily ☕
is on page 45 of 559
Hmm but you could say "beauty is terror" if you're talking beauty in a Rudolf Otto sense, as even calming beauty can be 'an awe-inspiring, fascinating mystery'. Okay, I agree with the beauty comment. "Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it".
— Jul 20, 2026 05:48AM
Emily ☕
is on page 42 of 559
Additionally, I would say that *alluring* "beauty is terror" - beauty that draws the Self in - but, when the Self is somewhat put aside, that is when there are moments of "genuine beauty" - these are not "terror".
Multiple parts of this moment are just slightly off - for example, it is said that love lets us lose the self, same as fighting in war - but this is false, because the zeal in both is born from the ego.
— Jul 20, 2026 05:10AM
Multiple parts of this moment are just slightly off - for example, it is said that love lets us lose the self, same as fighting in war - but this is false, because the zeal in both is born from the ego.