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

Fashion is something barbarous, for it produces innovation without reason and imitation without benefit.

Fashion is something barbarous, for it produces innovation without reason and imitation without benefit.

Habit is stronger than reason.

Habit is stronger than reason.

The world is a perpetual caricature of itself; at every moment it is the mockery...

The world is a perpetual caricature of itself; at every moment it is the mockery...

Each religion, by the help of more or less myth which it takes more or...

Each religion, by the help of more or less myth which it takes more or...

The degree in which a poet's imagination dominates reality is, in the end, the exact...

The degree in which a poet's imagination dominates reality is, in the end, the exact...

Music is essentially useless, as is life.

Music is essentially useless, as is life.

Knowledge is not eating, and we cannot expect to devour and possess what we mean....

Knowledge is not eating, and we cannot expect to devour and possess what we mean....

Fashion is something barbarous, for it produces innovation without reason and imitation without benefit.

Fashion is something barbarous, for it produces innovation without reason and imitation without benefit.

To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is...

To knock a thing down, especially if it is cocked at an arrogant angle, is...

Many possessions, if they do not make a man better, are at least expected to...

Many possessions, if they do not make a man better, are at least expected to...

Prayer, among sane people, has never superseded practical efforts to secure the desired end.

Prayer, among sane people, has never superseded practical efforts to secure the desired end.

Nothing is inherently and invincibly young except spirit. And spirit can enter a human being...

Nothing is inherently and invincibly young except spirit. And spirit can enter a human being...

Let a man once overcome his selfish terror at his own infinitude, and his infinitude...

Let a man once overcome his selfish terror at his own infinitude, and his infinitude...

The degree in which a poet's imagination dominates reality is, in the end, the exact...

The degree in which a poet's imagination dominates reality is, in the end, the exact...

Depression is rage spread thin.

Depression is rage spread thin.

Oaths are the fossils of piety.

Oaths are the fossils of piety.

The highest form of vanity is love of fame.

The highest form of vanity is love of fame.

Each religion, by the help of more or less myth, which it takes more or...

Each religion, by the help of more or less myth, which it takes more or...

When men and women agree, it is only in their conclusions; their reasons are always...

When men and women agree, it is only in their conclusions; their reasons are always...

Society is like the air, necessary to breathe but insufficient to live on.

Society is like the air, necessary to breathe but insufficient to live on.