Quotes by Henri-Frdric Amiel

“Uncertainty is the refuge of hope.”

“It is not what he has, nor even what he does, which directly expresses the worth of a man, but what he is.”

“all appears to change when we change”

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

“Philosophy means the complete liberty of the mind.”

“I begin to realize that my memory is a great catacomb, and that below my actual standing-ground there is layer after layer of historical ashes. Is the life of mind something like that of great tree...”

“Our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires but according to our powers.”

“The stationary condition is the beginning of the end”

“A belief is not true because it is useful”

“Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark.”

“To know how to suggest is the art of teaching.”

“Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.”

“Sacrifice still exists everywhere, and everywhere the elect of each generation suffers for the salvation of the rest.”

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”

“Let us never be afraid of innocent joy; God is good and what he does is well done; resign yourself to everything, even happiness; ask for the spirit of sacrifice, of detachment, of renunciation, an...”

“I'm not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You're as old as you feel.”

“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 an...”

“Hindoo wisdom long ago regarded the world as the dream of Brahma. Must we hold with Fichte that it is the individual dream of each individual ego? Every fool would then be a cosmogonic poet produci...”

“Any landscape is a condition of the spirit.”