"In general, "historical necessity" turns out to be merely a name for human stupidity."

Nicolás Gómez Dávila Philosophy See all quotes by Nicolás Gómez Dávila →

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“An individual declares himself a member of some group or other with the goal of demanding in its name what he is ashamed to claim in his own name.”

“No public cause deserves the unlimited allegiance of an intelligent man.”

“Genuine allegiance to an idea surpasses every psychological or social motivation.”

“The enemies of myth are not the friends of reality but of triviality.”

“To be intelligent without ideas is the privilege of the artist.”

“The individual shrinks in proportion as the state grows.”

Resonant Thoughts

"The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire."

— Ferdinand Foch

Science1851–1929

#power

"Chantal's only ruse … was her shattering simplicity. While a weak man or an imposter is always more complicated than the problem he is trying to solve, and thinking to encompass his adversary, merely …"

— Georges Bernanos

Military1888–1948

#mind

"Sedov spoke a lot about the necessity of the maximum, the closest possible connections with Tukhachevsky, inasmuch as, in Trotsky's opinion, Tukhachevsky and the military group were to be the decisive…"

— Mikhail Tukhachevsky

Military1893–1937

#success

"To defend painting: One has to believe in what one is doing, one has to commit oneself inwardly, in order to do painting. Once obsessed, one ultimately carries it to the point of believing that one mi…"

— Gerhard Richter

Art1932

#love