Many possessions, if they do not make a man better, are at least expected to make his children happier; and this pathetic hope is behind many exertions.

Quote by George Santayana

Topics: George Santayana Quotes

The body is an instrument, the mind its function, the witness and reward of its...

The body is an instrument, the mind its function, the witness and reward of its...

Habit is stronger than reason

Habit is stronger than reason

There is a kind of courtesy in skepticism. It would be an offense against polite...

There is a kind of courtesy in skepticism. It would be an offense against polite...

What religion a man shall have is a historical accident, quite as much as what...

What religion a man shall have is a historical accident, quite as much as what...

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...

Experience seems to most of us to lead to conclusions, but empiricism has sworn never...

Experience seems to most of us to lead to conclusions, but empiricism has sworn never...

Half our standards come from our first masters, and the other half from our first...

Half our standards come from our first masters, and the other half from our first...

The God to whom depth in philosophy bring back men's minds is far from being...

The God to whom depth in philosophy bring back men's minds is far from being...

Bid, then, the tender light of faith to shine By which alone the mortal heart...

Bid, then, the tender light of faith to shine By which alone the mortal heart...

To fight is a radical instinct; if men have nothing else to fight over they...

To fight is a radical instinct; if men have nothing else to fight over they...

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...

To be brief is almost a condition of being inspired.

To be brief is almost a condition of being inspired.

Knowledge is recognition of something absent; it is a salutation, not an embrace.

Knowledge is recognition of something absent; it is a salutation, not an embrace.

That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could...

That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could...

Friendship is constant in all other things Save in the office and affairs of love.

Friendship is constant in all other things Save in the office and affairs of love.

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,...

Depression is rage spread thin.

Depression is rage spread thin.

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...

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.

The philosophy of the common man is an old wife that gives him no pleasure,...

The philosophy of the common man is an old wife that gives him no pleasure,...