Before you contradict an old man, my fair friend, you should endeavor to understand him.

Quote by George Santayana

Topics: George Santayana Quotes

Only the dead have seen the end of the war.

Only the dead have seen the end of the war.

My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only...

My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only...

For gold is tried in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.

For gold is tried in the fire and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity.

For a man who has done his natural duty, death is as natural as sleep.

For a man who has done his natural duty, death is as natural as sleep.

It is veneer, rouge, aestheticism, art museums, new theaters, etc. that make America impotent. The...

It is veneer, rouge, aestheticism, art museums, new theaters, etc. that make America impotent. The...

A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.

A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.

Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.

Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.

Oxford, the paradise of dead philosophies.

Oxford, the paradise of dead philosophies.

Emotion is primarily about nothing and much of it remains about nothing to the end.

Emotion is primarily about nothing and much of it remains about nothing to the end.

If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.

If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.

A conception not reducible to the small change of daily experience is like a currency...

A conception not reducible to the small change of daily experience is like a currency...

Great is this organism of mud and fire, terrible this vast, painful, glorious experiment

Great is this organism of mud and fire, terrible this vast, painful, glorious experiment

Philosophers are very severe towards other philosophers because they expect too much.

Philosophers are very severe towards other philosophers because they expect too much.

Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness.

Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness.

Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament.

Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament.

The great difficulty in education is to get experience out of ideas.

The great difficulty in education is to get experience out of ideas.

Perhaps the only true dignity of man is his capacity to despise himself.

Perhaps the only true dignity of man is his capacity to despise himself.

The existence of any evil anywhere at any time absolutely ruins a total optimism.

The existence of any evil anywhere at any time absolutely ruins a total optimism.

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to...

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to...

Nothing can so pierce the soul as the uttermost sigh of the body.

Nothing can so pierce the soul as the uttermost sigh of the body.