Religions, which condemn the pleasures of sense, drive men to seek the pleasures of power. Throughout history power has been the vice of the ascetic.

Quote by Bertrand Russell

Topics: History Quotes

Human nature is so constructed that it gives affection most readily to those who seem...

Human nature is so constructed that it gives affection most readily to those who seem...

Science can teach us, and I think our own hearts can teach us, no longer...

Science can teach us, and I think our own hearts can teach us, no longer...

To be worthy of the name, he must be free of two things; the force...

To be worthy of the name, he must be free of two things; the force...

The secret to happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible

The secret to happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible

Awareness of universals is called conceiving, and a universal of which we are aware is...

Awareness of universals is called conceiving, and a universal of which we are aware is...

Drunkenness is temporary suicide.

Drunkenness is temporary suicide.

The theoretical understanding of the world, which is the aim of philosophy, is not a...

The theoretical understanding of the world, which is the aim of philosophy, is not a...

Dread of disaster makes everybody act in the very way that increases the disaster. Psychologically...

Dread of disaster makes everybody act in the very way that increases the disaster. Psychologically...

It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely...

It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely...

The commonest objection to birth control is that it is against nature.

The commonest objection to birth control is that it is against nature.

Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of...

Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of...

I like mathematics because it is not human and has nothing particular to do with...

I like mathematics because it is not human and has nothing particular to do with...

Almost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to science, which...

Almost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to science, which...

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good...

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good...

Punctuality is a quality the need of which is bound up with social co-operation. It...

Punctuality is a quality the need of which is bound up with social co-operation. It...

If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their...

If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their...

Young men and young women meet each other with much less difficulty than was formerly...

Young men and young women meet each other with much less difficulty than was formerly...

Governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deducted from it.

Governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deducted from it.

I loved history because to me, history was like watching a movie.

I loved history because to me, history was like watching a movie.

Does history support a belief in God? If by God we mean not the creative...

Does history support a belief in God? If by God we mean not the creative...