It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
Proofs are the last thing looked for by a truly religious mind which feels the imaginary fitness of its faith.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True faith does not rely on evidence; it is felt deeply within.
George Santayana's quote suggests that for those with genuine religious belief, the need for proofs and evidence is secondary to the intuitive sense of their faith. A truly religious person finds satisfaction in the emotional and personal connection to their beliefs rather than seeking out empirical validation or rational justification.
Themes
FaithBeliefReligionPhilosophyTrust
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a philosophical discussion about faith and evidence.
More from George Santayana
All quotes βThe 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.
George SantayanaRead
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.
George SantayanaRead
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
Similar quotes
The earth has everything for all human needs, but nothing for his greed.
Mahatma GandhiRead
According to Maslow, I was stuck on the second level of the pyramid, unable to feel secure in my health and therefore unable to reach for love and respect and art and whatever else, which is, utter horseshit: The urge to make art or contemplate philosophy does not go away when you are sick. Those urges just become transfigured by illness. Maslow's pyramid seemed to imply I was less human than other people, and most people seemed to agree with him.
John GreenRead
I'm for democracy, but imposing democracy is an oxymoron. People have to choose democracy, and it has to come up from below.
Madeleine AlbrightRead
Time is the father of truth, its mother is our mind.
Giordano BrunoRead
All life is a manifestation of the spirit, the manifestation of love.
Morihei UeshibaRead
In high school, I had to hide my comic book side, my nerd side from the civilian world so they wouldn't categorize me. They would try to marginalize me for what I like. I tried to give it up, believe me. I tried to kick the habit. But there's too much I liked about it to give it up completely.
Mark HamillRead