Paul Valery

Paul Valery

17 quotes

Paul Valery, a French poet, essayist, and philosopher, is widely remembered for insights that continue to resonate with readers everywhere. The range of their thinking — from Science to Poetry — speaks to an intellectual restlessness that shows in every quote. Our collection holds 24 quotes from Paul Valery, each offering a different angle on Science, Poetry, History, Future, and Art. One standout: "Politics is the art of preventing people from busying themselves with what is their own business."

“Power without abuse loses its charm.”

— Paul Valery

Power

All Quotes by Paul Valery

“Science means simply the aggregate of all the recipes that are always successful. All the rest is literature.”

— Paul Valery

Science

“A poem is never finished, only abandoned.”

— Paul Valery

Poetry

“An artist never really finishes his work, he merely abandons it.”

— Paul Valery

Art

“God made everything out of nothing, but the nothingness shows through.”

— Paul Valery

God

“The folly of mistaking a paradox for a discovery, a metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and oneself for an oracle, is inborn in us.”

— Paul Valery

Science

“Our judgments judge us, and nothing reveals us, exposes our weaknesses, more ingeniously than the attitude of pronouncing upon our fellows.”

— Paul Valery

Attitude

“The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.”

— Paul Valery

Future

“The future, like everything else, is not what it used to be.”

— Paul Valery

Future

“Politics is the art of preventing people from busying themselves with what is their own business.”

— Paul Valery

Art

“Power without abuse loses its charm.”

— Paul Valery

Power

“War: a massacre of people who don't know each other for the profit of people who know each other but don't massacre each other.”

— Paul Valery

War

“Love is being stupid together.”

— Paul Valery

Love

“The history of thought may be summed up in these words: it is absurd by what it seeks and great by what it finds.”

— Paul Valery

History

“God created man and, finding him not sufficiently alone, gave him a companion to make him feel his solitude more keenly.”

— Paul Valery

Alone

“History is the science of things which are not repeated.”

— Paul Valery

History

“In poetry everything which must be said is almost impossible to say well.”

— Paul Valery

Poetry

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”

— Paul Valery

Best