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Simone Weil

Simone Weil Quotes

Philosopher

Simone Weil was a French philosopher, social activist, and writer. Born on February 3, 1909, and died on August 24, 1943, Weil is known for her profound philosophical thinking and her passionate commitment to social justice. Her works have had a significant impact on later philosophers and social thinkers.

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All Humans Men Ifs Soul World Attention Knows Suffering Thinking Doe Should Evil Order Real States Form Giving Human Beings Needs People

Famous Simone Weil Quotes

“It is only by entering the transcendental, the supernatural, the authentically spiritual order that man rises above the social. Until then, whatever he may do, the social is transcendent in relation to him.”

Men May Spiritual Order Social Relation Entering Rise Above Transcendent Transcendental

Book:Gravity and Grace

Source: Gravity and Grace

“The necessity for power is obvious, because life cannot be lived without order; but the allocation of power is arbitrary because all men are alike, or very nearly. Yet power must not seem to be arbitrarily allocated, because it will not then be recognized as power. Therefore prestige, which is illusion, is of the very essence of power.”

Men Seems Order Illusion Essence Obvious Arbitrary Prestige Allocation

Book:Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings

Source: Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings

“Academic work is one of those fields which contain a pearl so precious that it is worth while to sell all our possessions, keeping nothing for ourselves, in order to be able to acquire it.”

Able Order Education Fields Sells Possession Acquire Academic Pearls Academic Work

Book:Waiting on God (Routledge Revivals)

Source: Waiting on God (Routledge Revivals)

“If someone does me injury I must desire that this injury shall not degrade me. I must desire this out of love for him who inflicts it, in order that he may not really have done evil.”

Ifs May Doe Done Desire Order Evil Injury Degrade

Book:Gravity and Grace

Source: Gravity and Grace

“In order to obey God, one must receive his commands. How did it happen that I received them in adolescence, while I was professing atheism? To believe that the desire for good is always fulfilled - that is faith, and whoever has it is not an atheist.”

Believe Happens Desire Order Atheism Atheist Command Fulfilled Adolescence

Book:First and Last Notebooks: Supernatural Knowledge

Source: First and Last Notebooks: Supernatural Knowledge

“All those who possess in its pure state the love of their neighbour and the acceptance of the order of the world, inclucing affliction-all those, even should they live and die to all appearances atheists, are surely saved.”

World Should States Order Dies Acceptance Pure Atheist Appearance Saved Affliction Neighbour

Author:Simone Weil

“To be a hero or a heroine, one must give an order to oneself.”

Giving Order Women Hero Oneself Heroines Heroes And Heroines

Author:Simone Weil

“It is not the cause for which men took up arms that makes a victory more just or less, it is the order that is established when arms have been laid down.”

Men Has Beens Order Causes Arms Victory

Book:Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings

Source: Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings

“Those who love a cause are those who love the life which has to be led in order to serve it.”

Book:The Notebooks of Simone Weil

Source: The Notebooks of Simone Weil

“Life does not need to mutilate itself in order to be pure.”

Life Needs Doe Order Pure Purity

Book:First and Last Notebooks: Supernatural Knowledge

Source: First and Last Notebooks: Supernatural Knowledge

“In the intellectual order, the virtue of humility is nothing more nor less than the power of attention.”

Order Attention Power Virtue Humility Intellectual Intellectual Humility

Book:Gravity and Grace

Source: Gravity and Grace

“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.”

World Humans Made Soul Feelings Happens Order Human Beings Love Is Beauty Universal Sight Rate Flesh Permission Illusory Beauty Of The World Transference

Author:Simone Weil

“The payment of debts is necessary for social order. The non-payment is quite equally necessary for social order. For centuries humanity has oscillated, serenely unaware, between these two contradictory necessities.”

Two Humanity Order Social Century Debt Contradictory Payment Social Order

Book:Selected Essays: 1934-1943

Source: Selected Essays: 1934-1943

“There are only two sorts of greatness: true greatness, which is of a spiritual order, and the old, old lie of world conquest. Conquest is an ersatz greatness.”

World Two Spiritual Lying Order Greatness Conquest True Greatness

Book:The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties Towards Mankind

Source: The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties Towards Mankind

“The same suffering is much harder to bear for a high motive than for a base one. The people [during World War II] who stood motionless, from one to eight in the morning, for the sake of having an egg, would have found it very difficult to do in order to save a human life.”

People World Humans War Suffering Order Found Difficult Morning Bears Harder Sake Eight Human Life War Of The Worlds Motive Eggs World War Ii World War I

Author:Simone Weil

“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.”

World Body Pain Order Universe Hurt Expression Fine Trade Tired Complaining Obedience Entering Peasants Apprentice Workmen Beauty Of The World

Author:Simone Weil

About the Author

Born: February 3, 1909
Died: August 24, 1943
Known for: Philosopher
Quotes: 426

Related Topics

Humans Men Ifs Soul World Attention Knows Suffering Thinking Doe Should Evil Order Real States Form Giving Human Beings Needs People

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Gravity and GraceRelated source material

Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral WritingsRelated source material

Waiting on God (Routledge Revivals)Related source material

First and Last Notebooks: Supernatural KnowledgeRelated source material

The Notebooks of Simone WeilRelated source material

The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties Towards MankindRelated source material

Letter to a PriestRelated source material

The Simone Weil ReaderRelated source material

Oppression and LibertyRelated source material

Waiting for GodRelated source material

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