It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
The young man who has not wept is a savage, and the older man who will not laugh is a fool.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Emotional expression is a vital part of humanity, and refusing to embrace joy or sorrow reflects a lack of maturity.
This quote by George Santayana highlights the importance of emotional experiences in shaping one's character. It suggests that those who have not experienced sorrow in their youth lack compassion and empathy, while those who do not embrace joy or laughter as they age are missing a crucial aspect of life's richness, indicating folly. Ultimately, it emphasizes the necessity of fully engaging with both the highs and lows of human existence to live a meaningful life.
Themes
EmotionHumanityExperienceJoySorrow
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of embracing emotions.
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
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