One should assiduously pursue perfection without ever claiming to attain it. Nicolas Malebranche More Quotes by Nicolas Malebranche More Quotes From Nicolas Malebranche We see things in this material world, wherein our bodies dwell, only because our mind through its attention lives in another world, only because it contemplates the beauties of the archetypal and intelligible world which Reason contains. Nicolas Malebranche mind attention world Attentiveness is the natural prayer of the Soul. Nicolas Malebranche soul prayer attention I am unable, when I turn to myself, to recognize any of my faculties or my capacities. The inner sensation which I have of myself informs me that I am, that I think, that I will, that I have sensory awareness, that I suffer, and so on; but it provides me with no knowledge whatever of what I am - of the nature of my thought, my sensations, my passions, or my pain - or the mutual relations that obtain between all these things ... I have no idea whatever of my soul. Nicolas Malebranche passion pain thinking I beg of you always to dwell upon the necessity of a thorough understanding of principles, in order to stop the vivacity of his mind, and please do not forget to meditate upon the subject of our discussion. Nicolas Malebranche thorough-understanding house order I love good and pleasure, I hate evil and pain, I want to be happy and I am not mistaken in believing, that people, angels and even demons have those same inclinations. Nicolas Malebranche pain hate believe We are made to know and love God. Nicolas Malebranche and-love god-love made All creatures are united to God alone in an immediate union. They depend essentially and directly upon Him. Being all alike equally impotent, they cannot be in reciprocal dependence upon one another. Nicolas Malebranche united unions creatures As our bodies live upon the earth and find sustenance in the fruits which it produces, so our minds feed on the same truths as the intelligible and immutable substance of the divine Word contains. Nicolas Malebranche substance body mind We are rational creatures: Our virtue and perfection is to love reason, or rather to love order. Nicolas Malebranche virtue perfection order When I touch a human hand, I touch heaven. Nicolas Malebranche humanity heaven hands I am not my own light unto myself. Nicolas Malebranche my-own light Our soul is not united to our body in the ordinary sense of these terms. It is immediately and directly united to God alone. Nicolas Malebranche body soul ordinary He has willed - He wills incessantly - that the modifications of the mind and those of the body shall be reciprocal. This is the conjunction and the natural dependence of the two parts of which we are constituted. Nicolas Malebranche body mind two Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to create. Nicolas Malebranche eye motivational art I do not believe there is anything useful which men can know with exactitude that they cannot know by arithmetic and algebra. Nicolas Malebranche science believe knowledge Do not fear lest you should meditate too much upon Him and speak of Him in an unworthy way, providing you are led by faith. Do not fear lest you should entertain false opinions of Him so long as they are in conformity with the notion of the infinitely perfect Being. Nicolas Malebranche too-much perfect long You cannot of yourself move your arm or alter your position, situation, posture, do to other men good or evil, or effect the least change in the world. Nicolas Malebranche men hands moving You will not dishonor the divine perfections by judgments unworthy of them, provided you never judge of Him by yourself, provided you do not ascribe to the Creator the imperfections and limitations of created beings. Nicolas Malebranche judgment judging perfection God transforms, so to speak, this air into words, into various sounds. He makes you understand these various sounds through the modifications by which you are affected. Nicolas Malebranche speak air sound Prejudices are not easily got rid of as an old coat which is no longer thought of. Nicolas Malebranche coats prejudice
