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

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.

Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it.

Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it.

Love is only half the illusion; the lover, but not his love, is deceived

Love is only half the illusion; the lover, but not his love, is deceived

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.

Nonsense is so good only because common sense is so limited.

Nonsense is so good only because common sense is so limited.

The mind of the Renaissance was not a pilgrim mind, but a sedentary city mind,...

The mind of the Renaissance was not a pilgrim mind, but a sedentary city mind,...

It is possible to be a master in false philosophy, easier, in fact, than to...

It is possible to be a master in false philosophy, easier, in fact, than to...

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

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

To drink in the spirit of a place you should be not only alone but...

To drink in the spirit of a place you should be not only alone but...

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...

Well-bred instinct meets reason halfway

Well-bred instinct meets reason halfway

All thought is naught but a footnote to Plato.

All thought is naught but a footnote to Plato.

Prayer, among sane people, has never superseded practical efforts to secure the desired end.

Prayer, among sane people, has never superseded practical efforts to secure the desired end.

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

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

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.

An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world.

An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world.

A man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the...

A man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the...

The Soul is the voice of the body's interests.

The Soul is the voice of the body's interests.

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

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

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.