Man is insatiable for power; he is infantile in his desires and, always discontented with what he has, loves only what he has not. People complain of the despotism of princes; they ought to complain of the despotism of man. Joseph de Maistre More Quotes by Joseph de Maistre More Quotes From Joseph de Maistre There is no philosophy without the art of ignoring objections. Joseph de Maistre philosopher philosophy art No man has ceased to believe in God before having decided that he should not exist; no book would produce atheism, and no book can restore faith. Joseph de Maistre man faith god believe We recognize in a plant some unknown power, a single, form-giving force, which creates and conserves, which moves unwaveringly toward its end, which appropriates what is useful to it and rejects that which would harm it. Joseph de Maistre end single plant power Genius is a grace. The true man of genius acts by movement or by impulsion. Joseph de Maistre true man genius grace Man in harmony with his Creator is sublime, and his action is creative; equally, once he separates himself from God and acts alone, he does not cease to be powerful, since this is the privilege of his nature, but his acts are negative and lead only to destruction. Joseph de Maistre alone man nature god Man, in spite of his fatal degradation, bears always the evident marks of his divine origin, in that every universal belief is always more or less true. Joseph de Maistre true more man always Man may well have covered over and, so to speak, encrusted the truth with the errors he has loaded onto it, but these errors are local, and universal truth will always show itself. Joseph de Maistre will man speak truth Government is a true religion: it has its dogmas, its mysteries, its priests. To submit it to the individual discussion is to destroy it; it is given life only through the national mind, that is to say, by political faith, which is a creed. Joseph de Maistre faith mind life religion
