“Let a man once overcome his selfish terror at his own finitude, and his finitude is, in one sense, overcome.”

— George Santayana, Introduction to The Ethics of Spinoza (1910)

About George Santayana

1863 – 1952

Spanish-American philosopher and poet, author of "The Life of Reason".

“It takes patience to appreciate domestic bliss; volatile spirits prefer unhappiness.”

“Theory helps us to bear our ignorance of fact.”

“That life is worth living is the most necessary of assumptions and, were it not assumed, the most impossible of conclusions.”

“When in doubt, tell the truth.”

“Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.”

“I never "worry" about action, but only about inaction.”

“The superior man has neither anxiety nor fear.”

“Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.”

“When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness.”