Henri Frederic Amiel
Henri Frederic Amiel
Henri Frédéric Amielwas a Swiss moral philosopher, poet, and critic...
NationalitySwiss
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth27 September 1821
CountrySwitzerland
soul growth important
The growth and development of the soul is more important than power and glory.
sadness joy pens
Sadness takes up the pen more readily than joy.
Every living being seeks instinctively to complete itself.
feelings soul mind
There is no repose for the mind except in the absolute; for feeling, except in the infinite; for the soul, except in the divine.
littles causes little-things
What we call little things are merely the causes of great things.
passion men truth-is
Men prefer the false due to habit, passion, will. Preference for truth is rare. Men are ruled by their fear of truth.
men voting
What governs men is the fear of truth.
philosophy doubt and-love
Philosophy starts with doubt and loves only truth.
chaos
Life alone can rekindle life.
passion fire feelings
The fire which enlightens is the same fire which consumes.
mean desire liberty
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.
too-much lost distrust
He who is too much afraid of being duped has lost the power of being magnanimous.
pride accepting
There are 2 sorts of pride: one in which we approve others, the other in which we cannot accept ourselves.
dream husband father
I have never felt any inward assurance of genius, or any presentiment of glory or of happiness. I have never seen myself in imagination great or famous, or even a husband, a father, an influential citizen. This indifference to the future, this absolute self-distrust, are, no doubt, to be taken as signs. What dreams I have are all vague and indefinite; I ought not to live, for I am now scarcely capable of living.