"Analysis kills spontaneity. The grain once ground into flour springs and germinates no more"

In this quote, Henri Frederic Amiel emphasizes the damaging nature of analysis on spontaneity. He argues that analysis is a procedure of breaking something down to its component parts, and in doing so, it destroys the really essence of spontaneity. Amiel argues that like a grain of wheat when ground into flour, which springs and sprouts no more, analysis strips away the life and vitality of a concept or action, leaving absolutely nothing however lifeless elements behind. In essence, Amiel is cautioning versus the overuse of analysis, and urging us to accept spontaneity as a necessary component of imagination and innovation.