Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating. Simone Weil More Quotes by Simone Weil More Quotes From Simone Weil Education-whether its object be children or adults, individuals or an entire people-consists in creating motives. Simone Weil creating education children One might lay down as a postulate: All conceptions of God which are incompatible with a movement of pure charity are false. All other conceptions of him, in varying degree, are true. Simone Weil degrees charity movement Art has no immediate future, because all art is collective and there is no more collective life. Simone Weil collectives art-is art Our patriotism comes straight from the Romans. This is why French children are encouraged to seek inspiration for it in Corneille. It is a pagan virtue, if these two words are compatible. The word pagan, when applied to Rome, early possesses the significance charged with horror which the early Christian controversialists gave it. The Romans really were an atheistic and idolatrous people; not idolatrous with regard to images made of stone or bronze, but idolatrous with regard to themselves. It is this idolatry of self which they have bequeathed to us in the form of patriotism. Simone Weil inspiration christian children Sin is nothing else but the failure to recognize human wretchedness. Simone Weil wretchedness sin humans He who does not realize to what extent shifting fortune and necessity hold in subjection every human spirit, cannot regard as fellow-creatures nor love as he loves himself those whom chance separated from him by an abyss. The variety of constraints pressing upon man give rise to the illusion of several distinct species that cannot communicate. Only he who has measured the dominion of force, and knows how not to respect it, is capable of love and justice. Simone Weil giving men life One of the most exquisite pleasures of human love - to serve the loved one without his knowing it - is only possible, as regards the love of God, through atheism. Simone Weil atheism knowing life A man whose mind feels that it is captive would prefer to blind himself to the fact. But if he hates falsehood, he will not do so; and in that case he will have to suffer a lot. He will beat his head against the wall until he faints. He will come to again Simone Weil wall hate men Only he who has measured the dominion of force, and knows how not to respect it, is capable of love andjustice. Simone Weil force dominion life To write the lives of the great in separating them from their works necessarily ends by above all stressing their pettiness, because it is in their work that they have put the best of themselves. Simone Weil biographies stress writing Truth is one, but error is manifold. Simone Weil truth-is errors truth Imagination is always the fabric of social life and the dynamic of history. The influence of real needs and compulsions, of real interests and materials, is indirect because the crowd is never conscious of it. Simone Weil real imagination history There are only two sorts of greatness: true greatness, which is of a spiritual order, and the old, old lie of world conquest. Conquest is an ersatz greatness. Simone Weil greatness spiritual lying Who were the fools who spread the story that brute force cannot kill ideas? Nothing is easier. And once they are dead they are no more than corpses. Simone Weil fragility stories ideas Punishment is a vital need of the human soul. Simone Weil punishment soul needs Conformity is an imitation of grace. Simone Weil imitation conformity grace The only great spirit of our time. Simone Weil our-time spirit time In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying them all on the same plane, without any discrimination of value, as though good and evil were external to them, as though the effort toward the good could be absent at any moment from the thought of any man. Simone Weil effort evil men The world is the closed door. It is a barrier. And at the same time it is the way through. Simone Weil doors way world The supernatural virtue of justice consists of behaving exactly as though there were equality when one is the stronger in an unequal relationship. Simone Weil diversity stronger justice
