Henri Frederic Amiel Quotes

An error is the more dangerous in proportion to the degree of truth which it contains.

Christianity, if it is to triumph over pantheism, must absorb it. To our pusillanimous eyes Jesus would have borne the marks of a hateful pantheism, for he confirmed the Biblical phrase "ye are gods," and so would St. Paul, who tells us that we are of "the race of God." Our century wants a new theology - that is to say, a more profound explanation of the nature of Christ and of the light which it flashes upon heaven and upon humanity.

Great men are the real men, in them nature has succeeded.

Nature does at least what she can to translate into visible form the wealth of the creative formula. By the vastness of the abysses into which she penetrates, in the effort--the unsuccessful effort--to house and contain the eternal thought, we may measure the greatness of the divine mind.

When everything has its proper place in our minds, we are able to stand in equilibrium with the rest of the world.

The philosopher aspires to explain away all mysteries, to dissolve them into light. Mystery on the other hand is demanded and pursued by the religious instinct; mystery constitutes the essence of worship, the power of proselytism.

Men of genius supply the substance of history, while the mass of men are but the critical filter, the limiting, slackening, passive force needed for the modification of ideas supplied by genius.

Criticism is above all a gift, an intuition, a matter of tact and flair; it cannot be taught or demonstrated--it is an art.

There are 2 sorts of pride: one in which we approve others, the other in which we cannot accept ourselves.

It is not what he had, or even what he does which expresses the worth of a man, but what he is.

To know how to suggest is the art of teaching.

Common sense is the measure of the possible; it is composed of experience and prevision; it is calculation applied to life.

A man only understands what is akin to something already existing in himself.

There is only one way of not hating those who do us wrong, and that is by doing them good.

Every life is a profession of faith, and exercises an inevitable and silent influence.

Man is a willful and covetous animal, who makes use of his intellect to satisfy his inclinations, but who cares nothing for truth, who rebels against personal discipline, who hates disinterested thought and the idea of self-education. Wisdom offends him, because it rouses in him disturbance and confusion, and because he will not see himself as he is.

To do what is impossible for talent is the mark of genius.

Our true history is scarcely ever deciphered by others. The chief part of the drama is a monologue, or rather an intimate debate between God, our conscience, and ourselves. Tears, grieves, depressions, disappointments, irritations, good and evil thoughts, decisions, uncertainties, deliberations --all these belong to our secret, and are almost all incommunicable and intransmissible, even when we try to speak of them, and even when we write them down.

We are always making God our accomplice so that we may legalize our own inequities.

Charm is the quality in others that makes us more satisfied with ourselves.

To learn new habits is everything, for it is to reach the substance of life. Life is but a tissue of habits.

To be misunderstood even by those whom one loves is the cross and bitterness of life. It is the secret of that sad and melancholy smile on the lips of great men which so few understand.

So long as a person is capable of self-renewal they are a living being. -Henri

A man without passion is only a latent force, only a possibility, like a stone waiting for the blow from the iron to give forth sparks.

Never to tire, never to grow cold; to be patient, sympathetic, tender; to look for the budding flower and the opening heart; to hope always; like God, to love always--this is duty.

I wonder whether I should gain anything by the attempt to assume a character which is not mine. My wavering manner, born of doubt and scruple, has at least the advantage of rendering all the different shades of my thought, and of being sincere. If it were to become terse, affirmative, resolute, would it not be a mere imitation?

Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty.

A journal takes the place of a confidant, that is, of friend or wife; it becomes a substitute for production, a substitute for country and public. It is a grief-cheating device, a mode of escape and withdrawal; but, factotum as it is, though it takes the place of everything, properly speaking it represents nothing at all.

Nothing finite is true, is interesting, is worthy to fix my attention. All that is particular is exclusive, and all that is exclusive repels me.

Only evil grows of itself, while for goodness we want effort and courage.

What we do not understand we have no right to judge

There is no curing a sick man who believes himself to be in health.

Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius.

Order means light and peace, inward liberty and free command over one's self; order is power.

Almost everything comes from almost nothing.

Accept life, and you must accept regret.

Woman is the salvation or the destruction of the family. She carries its destiny in the folds of her mantle.

The test of every religious, political, or educational system is the man that it forms.

Before crime is committed conscience must be corrupted, and every bad man who succeeds in reaching a high point of wickedness begins with this.

Love is faith and one faith leads to another.

Kindness is gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us.

Every life is a profession of faith.

Philosophy starts with doubt and loves only truth.

Everything you need for better future and success has already been written. And guess what? All you have to do is go to the library.

Thought is a kind of opium; it can intoxicate us, while still broad awake; it can make transparent the mountains and everything that exists.

Doubt of the reality of love ends by making us doubt everything.

Any landscape is a condition of the spirit.

Are we not all shipwrecked,...condemned to death?... However impatient our neighbours make us, however much indignation our race arouses, we are all bound together, and the companions of a chain-gang have everything to lose by mutual insults.