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Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave.

— G. I. Gurdjieff In Search of the Miraculous (1949)

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Slavery

More quotes by G. I. Gurdjieff

Hope of consciousness is strength
Hope of feelings is slavery
Hope of body is disease.

All and Everything: Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson (1950)

I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself.

All and Everything: Views from the Real World (1973)

Remember your self always and everywhere.

In right knowledge the study of man must proceed on parallel lines with the study of the world, and the study of the world must run parallel with the study of man.

In Search of the Miraculous (1949)

In speaking of evolution it is necessary to understand from the outset that no mechanical evolution is possible. The evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness.

In Search of the Miraculous (1949)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: G. I. Gurdjieff (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.