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

— George Santayana, The Sense of Beauty (1896), Pt. III, Form, § 30, p. 125

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.”

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

“Happiness is the only sanction of life; where happiness fails, existence remains a mad and lamentable experiment.”

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

“Remember that all is opinion.”

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have yet to be discovered.”

“Beauty is the mark God sets upon virtue.”

“Truth also has its roof, and bed, and board.”

“Heartily know, when half-gods go, the gods arrive.”