Bertrand Russell Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Bertrand Russell quotes, Bertrand Russell sayings, and Bertrand Russell proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather hostile. Bertrand Russell
Envy is the basis of democracy. Bertrand Russell
To teach how to live with uncertainty, and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy in our age can still do for those who study it. Bertrand Russell
When you want to teach children to think, you begin by treating them seriously when they are little, giving them responsibilities, talking to them candidly, providing privacy and solitude for them, and making them readers and thinkers of significant thoughts from the beginning. That’s if you want to teach them to think. Bertrand Russell
Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day. Bertrand Russell
“n America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only upwards, not downwards. Bertrand Russell
Many people when they fall in love, look for a little haven of refuge from the world, where they can be sure of being admired when they are not admirable, and praised when they are not praiseworthy. Bertrand Russell
War does not determine who is right only who is left. Bertrand Russell
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. Bertrand Russell
What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is its exact opposite Bertrand Russell
There is a possibility in human minds of something mysterious as the night-wind, deep as the sea, calm as the stars, and strong as death, a mystic contemplation, and the "intellectual love of God." Bertrand Russell
It is the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. Bertrand Russell
Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness. Bertrand Russell
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. Bertrand Russell
Dread of disaster makes everybody act in the very way that increases the disaster. Bertrand Russell
A life without adventure is likely to be unsatisfying, but a life in which adventure is allowed to take whatever form it will is sure to be short. Bertrand Russell
When the intensity of emotional conviction subsides, a man who is in the habit of reasoning will search for logical grounds in favor of the belief which he finds in himself. Bertrand Russell
The more we realize our minuteness and our impotence in the face of cosmic forces, the more amazing becomes what human beings have achieved. Bertrand Russell
Language serves not only to express thoughts but to make possible thoughts that could not exist without it. Bertrand Russell
We are all prone to the malady of the introvert who with the manifold spectacle of the world spread out before him, turns away and gazes only upon the emptiness within. Bertrand Russell
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. Bertrand Russell
If one man offers you democracy and another offers you a bag of grain, at what stage of starvation will you prefer the grain to vote? Bertrand Russell
A fanatical belief in democracy makes democratic institutions impossible. Bertrand Russell
Love should be a tree whose roots are deep in the earth, but whose branches extend into heaven. Bertrand Russell
Boys and girls should be taught respect for each others liberty, and that jealousy and possessiveness kill love. Bertrand Russell
Against my will, in the course of my travels, the belief that everything worth knowing was known at Cambridge gradually wore off. In this respect, my travels were very useful to me. Bertrand Russell
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd. Bertrand Russell
As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles. Bertrand Russell
The essence of good manners consists in making it clear that one has no wish to hurt. When it is clearly necessary to hurt, it must be done in such a way as to make it evident that the necessity is felt to be regrettable. Bertrand Russell
Cruel men believe in a cruel God and use their belief to excuse their cruelty, Bertrand Russell