It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
Character is the basis of happiness and happiness the sanction of character.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Character and happiness are intrinsically linked; true happiness arises from one’s character.
This quote by George Santayana emphasizes the deep connection between character and happiness in a person’s life. It suggests that the foundation of a fulfilling and happy life is built upon one’s character, implying that virtuous qualities and integrity lead to genuine happiness, while happiness itself validates and reinforces one’s character traits.
Themes
CharacterHappinessVirtueIntegrity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal development, one might share this quote to emphasize the importance of building one’s character.
More from George Santayana
All quotes →The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
George SantayanaRead
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
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Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
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To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
George SantayanaRead
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
George SantayanaRead
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