Best George Santayana Quotes
George Santayana Quotes About History, Meaning, Happiness, Goodreads, Life & Success! Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana born on December 16, 1863 in Madrid; Spain became known as George Santayana. His early childhood was spent in the town of Vila. He moved to Boston when he was nine years old and lived there for 40 years. In his career, he published all his work in English despite not speaking English at first. Despite moving to the United States at a young age, he never took American citizenship.
The West never felt like home to him. George Santayana attended Boston Latin School between 1882 and 1886. Royce and William James were famous philosophers he studied at Harvard University. After earning a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1889, he began teaching at the university. His influence on young students and his preference for their company over his colleagues were enormous.
Throughout his work and philosophy, Santayana emphasized spiritual values. In his opinion, western civilization is not conducive to liberal and democratic ideas. While agnostic, the philosopher did not undermine religion in any way. He was considering it from a liberal and open-minded perspective. The Idea of Christ in the Gospels, Interpretations of Poetry and Religion, and Reason in Religion all describe his religious beliefs.
Santayana sent his resignation to Harvard after his mom passed away in 1912, and he never returned to America. Despite numerous offers, he refused to return to Harvard. After moving to Rome in 1924, he spent the rest of his life there. In his lifetime, Santayana wrote numerous essays and books. He is known for his aphorisms, which have become clichés through overuse. At 88, he passed away while sleeping in Italy on 26th September 1952.
Best George Santayana Quotes
1. “The wisest mind has something yet to learn.” — George Santayana
2. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana
3. “An artist is a dreamer consenting to dream of the actual world.” — George Santayana
4. “Intelligence is quickness in seeing things as they are.” — George Santayana
5. “A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.” — George Santayana
6. “To know what people really think, pay regard to what they do, rather than what they say.” — George Santayana
7. “Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds.” — George Santayana
8. “Wisdom comes by disillusionment.” — George Santayana
9. “The highest form of vanity is love of fame.” — George Santayana
10. “Habit is stronger than reason.” — George Santayana
11. “Before you contradict an old man, my fair friend, you should endeavor to understand him.” — George Santayana
12. “The passions grafted on wounded pride are the most inveterate; they are green and vigorous in old age.” — George Santayana
13. “Nonsense is so good only because common sense is so limited.” — George Santayana
14. “Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it.” — George Santayana
15. “Character is the basis of happiness and happiness the sanction of character.” — George Santayana
16. “To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” — George Santayana
17. “Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness.” — George Santayana
18. “To be happy you must have taken the measure of your powers, tasted the fruits of your passion, and learned your place in the world.” — George Santayana
19. “A string of excited, fugitive, miscellaneous pleasures is not happiness; happiness resides in imaginative reflection and judgment, when the picture of one’s life, or of human life, as it truly has been or is, satisfies the will, and is gladly accepted.” — George Santayana
20. “Depression is rage spread thin.” — George Santayana
21. “It takes patience to appreciate domestic bliss; volatile spirits prefer unhappiness.” — George Santayana
22. “It is always pleasant to be urged to do something on the ground that one can do it well.” — George Santayana
23. “Repetition is the only form of permanence that nature can achieve.” — George Santayana
24. “There is nothing sweeter than to be sympathized with.” — George Santayana
25. “If artists and poets are unhappy, it is after all because happiness does not interest them.” — George Santayana
