Henri-Frédéric Amiel quotes - page 3

Each bud flowers but once and each flower has but its minute of perfect beauty; so, in the garden of the soul each feeling has, as it were, its flowering instant, its one and only moment of expansive grace and radiant kingship. (Henri-Frédéric Amiel)
In every loving woman there is a priestess of the past - a pious guardian of some affection, of which the object has disappeared. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Woman is the salvation or the destruction of the family. She carries its destiny in the folds of her mantle. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Pure truth cannot be assimilated by the crowd; it must be communicated by contagion. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
There is no repose for the mind except in the absolute; for feeling, except in the infinite; for the soul, except in the divine. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
It is not what he had, or even what he does which expresses the worth of a man, but what he is. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
We only understand that which already within us. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Action and faith enslave thought, both of them in order not be troubled or inconvenienced by reflection, criticism, and doubt. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
I am a spectator, so to speak, of the molecular whirlwind which men call individual life; I am conscious of an incessant metamorphosis, an irresistible movement of existence, which is going on within me - and this phenomenology of myself serves as a window opened upon the mystery of the world. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Sacrifice still exists everywhere, and everywhere the elect of each generation suffers for the salvation of the rest. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Sacrifice, which is the passion of great souls, has never been the law of societies. (Henri-Frédéric Amiel)
Sympathy is the first condition of criticism. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
The only substance properly so called is the soul. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Charm is the quality in others, that makes us more satisfied with ourselves. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. Humanity only begins for man with self-surrender. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Every life is a possession of faith, and exercises an inevitable and silent propaganda. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Common sense is the measure of the possible; it is composed of experience and prevision; it is calculation applied to life. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Action is coarsened thought; thought becomes concrete, obscure, and unconscious. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
The best path through life is the highway. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
True humility is contentment. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Analysis kills spontaneity. The grain once ground into flour springs and germinates no more. (Henri-Frédéric Amiel)
Common sense is calculation applied to life. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Thought is a kind of opium; it can intoxicate us, while still broad awake; it can make transparent the mountains and everything that exists. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
I'm not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You're as old as you feel. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Whenever conscience speaks with a divided, uncertain, and disputed voice, it is not the voice of God. Descend still deeper into yourself, until you hear nothing but a clear, undivided voice, a voice which does away with doubt and brings with it persuasion, light, and serenity. View quote
Henri-Frédéric Amiel