A nation is a body of people who have done great things together.

- Ernest Renan

The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."

- Ernest Renan

When people complain of life, it is almost always because they have asked impossible things of it.

- Ernest Renan

Man makes holy what he believes as he makes beautiful what he loves.

- Ernest Renan

Our opinions become fixed at the point where we stop thinking.

- Ernest Renan

Getting its history wrong is part of being a nation.

- Ernest Renan

Muslims are the first victims of Islam. Many times I have observed in my travels in the Orient that fanaticism comes from a small number of dangerous…

- Ernest Renan

Forgetfulness, and I would even say historical error, are essential in the creation of a nation.

- Ernest Renan

The talent of historians lies in their creating a true ensemble out of facts which are but half true.

- Ernest Renan