For purposes of action nothing is more useful than narrowness of thought combined with energy of will. Henri Frederic Amiel More Quotes by Henri Frederic Amiel More Quotes From Henri Frederic Amiel He who floats with the current, who does not guide himself according to higher principles, who has no ideal, no convictions-such a man is . . . a thing moved, instead of a living and moving being-an echo, not a voice. The man who has no inner-life is a slave of his surroundings as the barometer is the obedient servant of the air. Henri Frederic Amiel powerfulmenmoving Destiny has two ways of crushing us - by refusing our wishes and by fulfilling them. Henri Frederic Amiel crushfatedestiny I'm not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You're as old as you feel. Henri Frederic Amiel happy-birthdaymotivationalinspirational Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius. Henri Frederic Amiel intelligenceeducationinspirational To live we must conquer incessantly, we must have the courage to be happy. Henri Frederic Amiel inner-peacecouragehappiness A thousand things advance; nine hundred and ninety nine retreat; That is progress. Henri Frederic Amiel ninety-nineretreatprogress Mozart has the classic purity of light and the blue ocean; Beethoven the romantic grandeur which belongs to the storms of air and sea, and while the soul of Mozart seems to dwell on the ethereal peaks of Olympus, that of Beethoven climbs shuddering the storm-beaten sides of a Sinai. Blessed be they both! Each represents a moment of the ideal life, each does us good. Our love is due to both. Henri Frederic Amiel musicoceanblessed 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 Amiel charactercivilizationfirsts Common sense is the measure of the possible; it is composed of experience and prevision; it is calculation applied to life. Henri Frederic Amiel common-senseexperiencescience A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from the detail in which it is enwrapped, for everything cannot be equally considered; in a word, he must be able to simplify his duties, his business and his life. Henri Frederic Amiel cuttingletting-golife Philosophy means the complete liberty of the mind, and therefore independence of all social, political or religious prejudice... It loves one thing only... truth. Henri Frederic Amiel religiousphilosophymean True humility is contentment. Henri Frederic Amiel contentmenthumilityhumble Let mystery have its place in you ; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the ploughshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring. Henri Frederic Amiel selfheartwind Men don't achieve truth because they lack humility and love of truth. They won't criticize their own beliefs. Truth would overwhelm them. Henri Frederic Amiel and-lovehumilitymen So long as a person is capable of self-renewal they are a living being. -Henri Henri Frederic Amiel changeselflong The ideal doctor would be a man endowed with profound knowledge of life and of the soul, intuitively divining any suffering or disorder of whatever kind, and restoring peace by his mere presence. Henri Frederic Amiel medical-knowledgehealthmen The test of every religious, political, or educational system is the man that it forms. Henri Frederic Amiel educationalreligiousmen We are never more discontented with others than when we are discontented with ourselves. The consciousness of wrong-doing makes us irritable, and our heart, in its cunning, quarrels with what is outside it, in order that it may deafen the clamor within. Henri Frederic Amiel heartmayorder Tell me what you feel in your room when the full moon is shining in upon you and your lamp is dying out, and I will tell you how old you are, and I shall know if you are happy. Henri Frederic Amiel shiningmoonhappiness Our life is nothing, it is true, but our life is divine. A breath of nature annihilates us, but we surpass nature in penetrating far beyond her vast phantasmagoria to the changeless and the eternal. Henri Frederic Amiel eternaldivinelife
