It is veneer, rouge, aestheticism, art museums, new theaters, etc. that make America impotent. The good things are football, kindness, and jazz bands.

Quote by George Santayana

Topics: George Santayana Quotes

Nothing so much enhances a good as to make sacrifices for it.

Nothing so much enhances a good as to make sacrifices for it.

Man is as full of potentiality as he is of impotence

Man is as full of potentiality as he is of impotence

Philosophers are as jealous as women; each wants a monopoly of praise

Philosophers are as jealous as women; each wants a monopoly of praise

Old places and old persons in their turn, when spirit dwells in them, have an...

Old places and old persons in their turn, when spirit dwells in them, have an...

Oaths are the fossils of piety.

Oaths are the fossils of piety.

Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.

Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.

Periods of tranquillity are seldom prolific of creative achievement. Mankind has to be stirred up.

Periods of tranquillity are seldom prolific of creative achievement. Mankind has to be stirred up.

Intolerance is a form of egotism, and to condemn egotism intolerantly is to share it.

Intolerance is a form of egotism, and to condemn egotism intolerantly is to share it.

Science is nothing but developed perception, interpreted intent, common sense rounded out and minutely articulated.

Science is nothing but developed perception, interpreted intent, common sense rounded out and minutely articulated.

The family is one of nature's masterpieces.

The family is one of nature's masterpieces.

Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness

Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness

Only the dead have seen the end of the war.

Only the dead have seen the end of the war.

The spirit's foe in man has not been simplicity, but sophistication.

The spirit's foe in man has not been simplicity, but sophistication.

Wisdom comes by disillusionment.

Wisdom comes by disillusionment.

All living souls welcome whatever they are ready to cope with; all else they ignore,...

All living souls welcome whatever they are ready to cope with; all else they ignore,...

A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous pleasures is not happiness; happiness resides in imaginative reflection...

A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous pleasures is not happiness; happiness resides in imaginative reflection...

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.

There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.

Depression is rage spread thin.

Depression is rage spread thin.

The primary use of conversation is to satisfy the impulse to talk.

The primary use of conversation is to satisfy the impulse to talk.

Music is a means of giving form to our inner feelings, without attaching them to...

Music is a means of giving form to our inner feelings, without attaching them to...