"Those who proclaim that the noble is despicable end up by proclaiming that the despicable is noble."

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

React to this quote

More by Nicolás Gómez Dávila

“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.”

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

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

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

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

Resonant Thoughts

"War is not the answer. Communism will never be defeated by the use of atomic bombs or nuclear weapons. Let us not join those who shout war and, through their misguided passions, urge the United States…"

— Martin Luther King

Social Activism1929–1968

#justice

"The opposition to the habits of those who eat beef is cultural fascism. Certain sections of the elite are still not ready to accept the food habits of the vast majority of Dalits and other socially op…"

— Kancha Ilaiah

Science1952

#friendship

"The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others."

— Bertrand Russell

Philosophy1872–1970

#ethics

"In the great head-end which has been mostly darkness springs up myriads of twinkling stationary lights and myriads of trains of moving lights of many different directions. It is as though activity fro…"

— Charles Scott Sherrington

Science1857–1952

#mind