“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which mean never losing your enthusiasm.”
Age“The finest works of art are precious, among other reasons, because they make it possible for us to know, if only imperfectly and for a little while, what it actually feels like to think subtly and feel nobly.”
Art“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which mean never losing your enthusiasm.”
Age“A man may be a pessimistic determinist before lunch and an optimistic believer in the will's freedom after it.”
Freedom“That all men are equal is a proposition to which, at ordinary times, no sane human being has ever given his assent.”
Men“The worst enemy of life, freedom and the common decencies is total anarchy their second worst enemy is total efficiency.”
Freedom“The finest works of art are precious, among other reasons, because they make it possible for us to know, if only imperfectly and for a little while, what it actually feels like to think subtly and feel nobly.”
Art“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.”
History“Thought must be divided against itself before it can come to any knowledge of itself.”
Knowledge“Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are dead.”
Nature“An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by a thrilling lie.”
Truth“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
Music“There's only one effectively redemptive sacrifice, the sacrifice of self-will to make room for the knowledge of God.”
God“Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth. By simply not mentioning certain subjects... totalitarian propagandists have influenced opinion much more effectively than they could have by the most eloquent denunciations.”
Great“Experience is not what happens to you it's what you do with what happens to you.”
Experience“Europe is so well gardened that it resembles a work of art, a scientific theory, a neat metaphysical system. Man has re-created Europe in his own image.”
Art“Words, words, words! They shut one off from the universe. Three quarters of the time one's never in contact with things, only with the beastly words that stand for them.”
Time“Happiness is a hard master, particularly other people's happiness.”
Happiness“The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own.”
Politics“God isn't compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness. You must make your choice. Our civilization has chosen machinery and medicine and happiness.”
God“I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.”
Change“What with making their way and enjoying what they have won, heroes have no time to think. But the sons of heroes - ah, they have all the necessary leisure.”
Time