“To understand oneself is the classic form of consolation; to elude oneself is the romantic.”

— George Santayana, The Genteel Tradition in American Philosophy (1911), p. 51

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.”

“It was for this that I've been training myself, it was for this that I was practising.”

“For freedom is not acquired by satisfying yourself with what you desire, but by destroying your desire.”

“Ask yourself at every moment, "Is this necessary?"”

“A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself.”

“Up! mind thine own aim, and God speed the mark!”

“It may be called the Master Passion—the hunger for Self-Approval.”