"To conceive the good, in fact, is not sufficient; it must be made to succeed among men. To accomplish this less pure paths must be followed."

Ernest Renan Philosophy See all quotes by Ernest Renan →

React to this quote

More by Ernest Renan

“You may take great comfort from the fact that suffering inwardly for the sake of truth proves abundantly that one loves it and marks one out as being of the elect.”

“In morals, truth is but little prized when it is a mere sentiment, and only attains its full value when realized in the world as fact.”

“He whom God has touched will always be a being apart: he is, whatever he may do, a stranger among men; he is marked by a sign.”

“I can die when I wish to: that is my elixir of life.”

“To be free in an age like ours, one must be in a position of authority. That in itself would be enough to make me ambitious.”

“Jesus, in some respects, was an anarchist, for he had no idea of civil government. That government seems to him purely and simply an abuse.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Owing to this favor I need to have no fear of want to the end of my life, and being thus laid under obligation I began to write this work for you, because I saw that you have built and are now buildin…"

— Vitruvius

Technology-79–-14

#success

"I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the singing, among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conce…"

— Frederick Douglass

Social Activism1818–1895

#happiness

"Instead of deluding public opinion with a notion that a sufficient application of force will provide a remedy, a wiser course would be to set about taking such steps as may be the means of recovering …"

— Edward Wood

Military1841–1898

#society

"Future historians will include the no-temple argument of the 1990s as a remarkable case study in their surveys of academic fraud and politicized scholarship. With academic, institutional and media pow…"

— Koenraad Elst

Indology1959

#knowledge