Simone Weil Sayings and Quotes

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

If you want to know what a man is really like, take notice of how he acts when he loses money. Simone Weil
Equality is the public recognition, effectively expressed in institutions and manners, of the principle that an equal degree of attention is due to the needs of all human beings. Simone Weil
Imagination is always the fabric of social life and the dynamic of history. The influence of real needs and compulsions, of real interests and materials, is indirect because the crowd is never conscious of it. Simone Weil
It is an eternal obligation toward the human being not to let him suffer from hunger when one has a chance of coming to his assistance. Simone Weil
Whatever debases the intelligence degrades the entire human being. Simone Weil
In struggling against anguish one never produces serenity; the struggle against anguish only produces new forms of anguish. Simone Weil
Beauty always promises, but never gives anything. Simone Weil
A beautiful woman looking at her image in the mirror may very well believe the image is herself. An ugly woman knows it is not. Simone Weil
The capacity to give one's attention to a sufferer is a very rare and difficult thing; it is almost a miracle; it is a miracle. Nearly all those who think they have the capacity do not possess it. Simone Weil
Real genius is nothing else but the supernatural virtue of humility in the domain of thought. Simone Weil
Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense, consists in the ability to choose. Simone Weil
In the Church, considered as a social organism, the mysteries inevitably degenerate into beliefs. Simone Weil
The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell. Simone Weil
The joy of learning is as indispensable in study as breathing is in running. Simone Weil
Purity is the power to contemplate defilement. Simone Weil
There is no detachment where there is no pain. And there is no pain endured without hatred or lying unless detachment is present too. Simone Weil
The poison of skepticism becomes, like alcoholism, tuberculosis, and some other diseases, much more virulent in a hitherto virgin soil. Simone Weil
Those who are unhappy have no need for anything in this world but people capable of giving them their attention. Simone Weil
The contradictions the mind comes up against, these are the only realities, the criterion of the real. There is no contradiction in what is imaginary. Contradiction is the test of necessity. Simone Weil
When a contradiction is impossible to resolve except by a lie, then we know that it is really a door. Simone Weil
The danger is not lest the soul should doubt whether there is any bread, but lest, by a lie, it should persuade itself that it is not hungry. Simone Weil
One is never got out of the cave, one comes out of it. Simone Weil
Purity is the power to contemplate defilement. Simone Weil
The highest ecstasy is the attention at its fullest. Simone Weil
It is an eternal obligation toward the human being not to let him suffer from hunger when one has a chance of coming to his assistance. Simone Weil
The highest ecstasy is the attention at its fullest. Simone Weil
A test of what is real is that it is hard and rough. Joys are found in it, not pleasure. What is pleasant belongs to dreams. Simone Weil
Academic work is one of those fields which contain a pearl so precious that it is worth while to sell all our possessions, keeping nothing for ourselves, in order to be able to acquire it. Simone Weil
One must always be prepared to switch sides with justice, that fugitive of the winning camp. Simone Weil
A test of what is real is that it is hard and rough. Joys are found in it, not pleasure. What is pleasant belongs to dreams. Simone Weil