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Simone Weil

Simone Weil Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Simone Weil Quotes

“Beauty captivates the flesh in order to obtain permission to pass right through to the soul. . . . When the feeling for beauty happens to be associated with the sight of some human being, the transference of love is made possible, at any rate in an illusory manner. But it is all the beauty of the world, it is universal beauty, for which we yearn.”

WorldHumansMadeSoulFeelingsHappensOrderHuman BeingsLove IsBeautyUniversalSightRateFleshPermissionIllusoryBeauty Of The WorldTransference
Author:Simone Weil
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“A man whose mind feels that it is captive would prefer to blind himself to the fact. But if he hates falsehood, he will not do so; and in that case he will have to suffer a lot. He will beat his head against the wall until he faints. He will come to again”

IfsMenFeelsMindFactsSufferingHateCasesWallBeatsEnlightenmentBlindFalsehoodCaptives
Book:Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings
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“To us, men of the West, a very strange thing happened at the turn of the century; without noticing it, we lost science, or at least the thing that had been called by that name for the last four centuries. What we now have in place of it is something different, radically different, and we don't know what it is. Nobody knows what it is.”

KnowsMenDifferentLastsScienceTurnsNamesLostFourHappenedCenturyStrangeScientistWestThings HappenNoticingNobody KnowsStrange Things
Author:Simone Weil
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“When a man's life is destroyed or damaged by some wound or privation of soul or body, which is due to other men's actions or negligence, it is not only his sensibility that suffers but also his aspiration toward the good. Therefore there has been sacrilege towards that which is sacred in him.”

MenHas BeensSoulBodyActionLife IsSufferingSacredDuesWoundsDestroyedAspirationSensibilityNegligenceSacrilege
Book:Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings
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“As for the spirit of poverty, I do not remember any moment when it was not in me, although only to that unhappily small extent compatible with my imperfection. I fell in love with Saint Francis of Assisi as soon as I came to know about him. I always believed and hoped that one day Fate would force upon me the condition of a vagabond and a beggar which he embraced freely. Actually I felt the same way about prison.”

KnowsWayMomentsRememberSpiritForceFeltPovertyFateConditionsOne DayPrisonSaintImperfectionAlways BelieveBeggarCompatibleVagabondsSaint FrancisSaint Francis Of Assisi
Author:Simone Weil
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“When an apprentice gets hurt, or complains of being tired, the workmen and peasants have this fine expression: "It is the trade entering his body." Each time that we have some pain to go through, we can say to ourselves quite truly that it is the universe, the order and beauty of the world, and the obedience of God that are entering our body.”

WorldBodyPainOrderUniverseHurtExpressionFineTradeTiredComplainingObedienceEnteringPeasantsApprenticeWorkmenBeauty Of The World
Author:Simone Weil
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