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George Santayana
Find the best quotes, maxims and aphorisms of George Santayana
Biography : Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist.
Born: 1863 - Died: 1952
Place of birth: Spain
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George Santayana - Quotes




He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.
John Stuart Mill - On Liberty / 



He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.




True knowledge lies in knowing how to live.
Baltasar Gracian - The Art of Worldly Wisdom / 



True knowledge lies in knowing how to live.

Image attribution  Background photo by Maria Shanina on Unsplash





In all things it is better to hope than to despair.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Torquato Tasso / 



In all things it is better to hope than to despair.




The usual pretext of those who make others unhappy is that they do it for their own good.
Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues - Reflexions and Maxims / 






To be able to discern what is true as true and what is false as false — this is the mark and character of intelligence.
Emanuel Swedenborg / 






A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
Francis Bacon - Essays / 



A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.




All grown-ups were once children (but only few of them remember it).
Antoine de Saint-Exupery - The Little Prince / 



All grown-ups were once children (but only few of them remember it).




It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves.
Katherine Mansfield / 



It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves.




Change alone is the constant.
Arthur Schopenhauer - Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life / 






Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
Carl Gustav Jung - Memories, Dreams, Reflections / 



Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.




The sun is new each day.
Heraclitus of Ephesus - Fragments / 



The sun is new each day.




Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.
Epictetus - Handbook (Enchiridion) / 






Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our mind by means of our language.
Ludwig Wittgenstein - Philosophical Investigations / 



Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our mind by means of our language.




The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
Alan Watts - The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety / 






I have decided to be happy because it's good for my health.
Voltaire - Letter to the Abbé Trublet / 



I have decided to be happy because it's good for my health.

Image attribution  Background photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash





Amongst democratic nations, each new generation is a new people.
Alexis de Tocqueville - Democracy in America / 






Nothing is ever finished ; only a little happiness is needed for everything to begin again.
Émile Zola - Germinal / 






To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

William Blake - Auguries of Innocence / 






A happy life, therefore, is one which is in accordance with its own nature.
Seneca - De Vita Beata / 






Happiness is not easily won; it is hard to find it in ourselves and impossible to find it elsewhere.
Nicolas Chamfort - Maximes et pensées / 






Man arrives as a novice at each age of his life.
Nicolas Chamfort - Maximes et pensées / 



Man arrives as a novice at each age of his life.




The language of truth is simple.
Seneca - Epistulae morales ad Lucilium / 



The language of truth is simple.




Where all is well, there is no such thing as injustice. Justice and goodness are inseparable.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Emile, or On Education / 






We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.
 / 



We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

Image attribution  Background photo by Christina Ambalavanar on Unsplash





To live without philosophizing is properly to have one's eyes closed and never attempt to open them.
René Descartes - Principles of Philosophy / 






Harmony between two individuals is never granted - it has to be conquered indefinitely.
Simone de Beauvoir / 



Harmony between two individuals is never granted - it has to be conquered indefinitely.

Image attribution  Background photo by Finding Dan on Unsplash





Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama  / 






Do not wait to be perfect to start something good.
Abbé Pierre / 



Do not wait to be perfect to start something good.




Fate shuffles the cards and we play.
Arthur Schopenhauer - Parerga and Paralipomena / 



Fate shuffles the cards and we play.




We have need of morality only for want of love.
André Comte-Sponville / 



We have need of morality only for want of love.








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