A belief is not true because it is useful |
A lively, disinterested, persistent liking for truth is extraordinarily rare. Action and faith enslave thought, both of them in order not to be troubled or inconvenienced by reflection, criticism or doubt. |
A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from the detail in which it is enwrapped, for everything cannot be equally considered; in a word, he must be able to simplify his duties, his business and his life. |
A man only understands what is akin to something already existing in himself. |
A philosopher is [one who] aspires to explain away all mysteries, to dissolve them into light. |
A thousand things advance; nine hundred and ninety-nine retreat: that is progress. |
Action is coarsened thought; thought becomes concrete, obscure, and unconscious. |
An error is the more dangerous in proportion to the degree of truth which it contains |
Analysis kills spontaneity. The grain once ground into flour springs and germinates no more. |
Any landscape is a condition of the spirit. |
Charm is the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves. |
Charm: that quality in others of making us more satisfied with ourselves |
Clever people will recognize and tolerate nothing but cleverness. |
Cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient for nothing |
Common sense is calculation applied to life. |