Civilization is first of all a moral thing. Without truth, respect for duty, love of neighbor, and virtue, everything is destroyed. The morality of a society is alone the basis of civilization.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
There is no repose for the mind except in the absolute; for feeling, except in the infinite; for the soul, except in the divine.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the need for ultimate truths and profound experiences to find peace in our intellect and emotions.
Henri Frederic Amiel suggests that the mind seeks rest only in the pursuit of absolute truths, while feelings can only find comfort in the notion of infinity, and the soul can only find solace in the divine. This profound observation reflects the human quest for deeper meaning and understanding in a complex world, highlighting that true peace often comes from engaging with concepts much larger than our individual experiences.
Themes
PeaceMindSoulAbsoluteInfiniteDivineTruth
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might say: 'As Henri Frederic Amiel wisely noted, there is no repose for the mind except in the absolute.'
More from Henri Frederic Amiel
All quotes βMan never knows what he wants; he aspires to penetrate mysteries and as soon as he has, wants to re-establish them. Ignorance irritates him and knowledge cloys.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
Any landscape is a condition of the spirit.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
True love is that which ennobles the personality, fortifies the heart, and sanctifies the existence.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
It is by teaching that we teach ourselves, by relating that we observe, by affirming that we examine, by showing that we look, by writing that we think, by pumping that we draw water into the well.
Henri Frederic AmielRead
Similar quotes
Man is always inclined to regard the small circle in which he lives as the center of the world and to make his particular, private life the standard of the universe and to make his particular, private life the standard of the universe. But he must give up this vain pretense, this petty provincial way of thinking and judging.
Ernst CassirerRead
I would much rather have men ask why I have no statue than why I have one.
Marcus Porcius CatoRead
I believe I never knew what the word round meant until I saw Earth from space.
Alexey LeonovRead
There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet.
Stephen HawkingRead
Man is the only animal capable of reasoning, though many others possess the faculty of memory and instruction in common with him.
AristotleRead
Tell me what you yearn for and I shall tell you who you are. We are what we reach for, the idealized image that drives our wandering.
James HillmanRead