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Quote by Simone Weil

“Education-whether its object be children or adults, individuals or an entire people-consists in creating motives.”

Quote by Simone Weil

Author

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. more

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“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.”

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“The right to kill: supposing the life of X ... were linked with our own so that the two deaths had to be simultaneous, should we still wish him to die? If with our whole body and soul we desire life and if nevertheless without lying, we can reply 'yes'> then we have the right to kill.”

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“Man alone can enslave man.”

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“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.”

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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.”

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“The reason American cars don't sell anymore is that they have forgotten how to design the American Dream. What does it matter if you buy a car today or six months from now, because cars are not beautiful. That's why the American auto industry is in trouble: no design, no desire.”

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