43 quotes
Dutch philosopher (1632–1677)
“Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.”
"I call him free who is led solely by reason."
on Freedom
"For peace is not mere absence of war, but is a virtue that springs from, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice."
on Peace
"I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them."
on Philosophy
"Do not weep do not wax indignant. Understand."
on Wisdom
"Peace is not the absence of war, but a virtue based on strength of character."
on Character
"The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is."
on Self Awareness
"When a man is prey to his emotions, he is not his own master."
on Emotions
"Hatred is increased by being reciprocated, and can on the other hand be destroyed by love."
on Love
"In so far as the mind sees things in their eternal aspect, it participates in eternity."
"Blessedness is not the reward of virtue, but virtue itself."
"The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free."
on Education
"He alone is free who lives with free consent under the entire guidance of reason."
"To be what we are and to become what we are capable of becoming is the only end of life."
on Success
"Only that thing is free which exists by the necessities of its own nature, and is determined in its actions by itself alone."
"Happiness is a virtue, not its reward."
on Happiness
"All happiness or unhappiness solely depends upon the quality of the object to which we are attached by love."
"The good which every man, who follows after virtue, desires for himself he will also desire for other men..."
on Justice
"For though men be ignorant, yet they are men"
"Those who are believed to be most abject and humble are usually most ambitious and envious."
