Time and space are fragments of the infinite for the use of finite creatures. Henri Frederic Amiel More Quotes by Henri Frederic Amiel More Quotes From Henri Frederic Amiel I find myself regarding existence as though from beyond the tomb, from another world; all is strange to me; I am, as it were, outside my own body and individuality; I am depersonalized, detached, cut adrift. Is this madness? Henri Frederic Amiel adriftindividualitycutting What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution. Henri Frederic Amiel stormblacklittles A man only understands what is akin to something already existing in himself. Henri Frederic Amiel understandingmen How true it is that our destinies are decided by nothings and that a small imprudence helped by some insignificant accident, as an acorn is fertilized by a drop of rain, may raise the trees on which perhaps we and others shall be crucified. Henri Frederic Amiel destinyraintree Every life is a profession of faith. Henri Frederic Amiel professionfaithlife-is The masses are the material of democracy, but its form-that is to say, the laws which express the general reason, justice, and utility-can only be rightly shaped by wisdom, which is by no means a universal property. Henri Frederic Amiel lawjusticemean To be always ready a man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied. Henri Frederic Amiel simplicitycuttingmen At bottom, everything depends upon the presence or absence of one single element in the soul - HOPE Henri Frederic Amiel elementssoulabsence He who is too much afraid of being duped has lost the power of being magnanimous. Henri Frederic Amiel distrusttoo-muchlost Mutual respect implies discretion and reserve even in love itself; it means preserving as much liberty as possible to those whose life we share. We must distrust our instinct of intervention, for the desire to make one's own will prevail is often disguised under the mask of solicitude. Henri Frederic Amiel respectdesiremean At the bottom of the modern man there is always a great thirst for self-forgetfulness, self-distraction . . . and therefore he turns away from all those problems and abysses which might recall to him his own nothingness. Henri Frederic Amiel selfmightmen Life alone can rekindle life. Henri Frederic Amiel chaos We are all visionaries, and what we see is our soul in things. Henri Frederic Amiel visionariesvisionsoul
