George Santayana Quotes

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Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana

Past, Infancy Is, History

"The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress", Vol. I, Reason in Common Sense by George Santayana, 1905-1906.

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A country without a memory is a country of madmen.

George Santayana

Inspirational, Motivational, Country

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To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do, rather than what they say.

George Santayana

Inspirational, Life, Philosophical

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Eternal vigilance is the price of knowledge.

George Santayana

Vigilance, Eternal, Eternal Vigilance

George Santayana, Martin A. Coleman (2009). “The Essential Santayana: Selected Writings”, p.537, Indiana University Press

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History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there.

George Santayana

Fear, Lying, People

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The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again

George Santayana

Doe, Remember, Bounds

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A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.

George Santayana

Education, Teacher, Children

George Santayana (1950). “Atoms of Thought: An Anthology of Thoughts”

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There is wisdom in turning as often as possible from the familiar to the unfamiliar: it keeps the mind nimble, it kills prejudice, and it fosters humor.

George Santayana

Humor, Growth, Mind

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The Difficult is that which can be done immediately; the Impossible that which takes a little longer.

George Santayana

Motivational, Perseverance, Courage

Quoted in Reader's Digest, Nov. 1939 See Calonne 1; Nansen 1; Trollope 3

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Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had searched the brain with a microscope.

George Santayana

God, Space, Heaven

George Santayana, Marianne S. Wokeck, Martin A. Coleman, James Gouinlock (2011). “The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress: Introduction and Reason in Common Sense, Volume VII, Book One”, p.75, MIT Press

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There is no greater stupidity or meanness than to take uniformity for an ideal.

George Santayana

Stupidity, Meanness, Ideals

George Santayana (2015). “The Life of Reason: Human Understanding”, p.59, 谷月社

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Habit is stronger than reason.

George Santayana

Smoking, Stronger, Opinion

George Santayana (1936). “The Works of George Santayana: Interpretations of the poetry and religion. Hamlet. Shelley. Dickens. Tragic philosophy”

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My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests.

George Santayana

Atheist, Men, Insightful

Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies "On My Friendly Critics" (1922)

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We must welcome the future, remembering that soon it will be the past; and we must respect the past, remembering that it was once all that was humanly possible.

George Santayana

Future, Past, Welcome

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The wisest mind has something yet to learn.

George Santayana

Graduation, Wisdom, Diversity

George Santayana (1936). “The Works of George Santayana”

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Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds.

George Santayana

Order, Names, Confusion

George Santayana (1995). “Dominations and Powers: Reflections on Liberty, Society, and Government”, p.33, Transaction Publishers

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Intelligence is quickness in seeing things as they are.

George Santayana

Vision, Intelligence, Awe

George Santayana (1970). “Three Philosophical Poets: Lucretius, Dante, and Goethe”, p.19, Library of Alexandria

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

George Santayana

Inspirational, Goal, Effort

The Life of Reason vol. 1, introduction (1905)

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Wisdom lies in taking everything with good humor and a grain of salt.

George Santayana

Lying, Grain Of Salt, Good Humor

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Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In the first stage of life the mind is frivolous and easily distracted; it misses progress by failing in consecutiveness and persistence. This is the condition of children and barbarians, in which instinct has learned nothing from experience.

George Santayana

Change, Children, Persistence

George Santayana (2011). “The Life of Reason: Introduction and Reason in Common Sense”, p.172, MIT Press

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Only the dead have seen the end of the war.

George Santayana

Military, War, Philosophical

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Advertising is the modern substitute for argument, its function is to make the worse appear the better article. A confused competition of all propagandas -- those insults to human nature -- is carried on by the most expert psychological methods -- for instance, by always repeating a lie.

George Santayana

Confused, Lying, Competition

George Santayana (1937). “The Works of George Santayana”

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Never have I enjoyed youth so thoroughly as I have in my old age

George Santayana

Inspiration, Age, Youth

George Santayana (1953). “Persons and Places: My host the world”

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For a man who has done his natural duty, death is as natural as sleep.

George Santayana

Sleep, Men, Hair

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Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect...

George Santayana

Skepticism, Intellect, Chastity

"Scepticism and Animal Faith". Book by George Santayana, 1923.

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Born: December 16, 1863
Died: September 26, 1952
Occupation: Philosopher
Cite this Page: Citation

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