African Spir: Trending quotes (page 2)

“When a man make of his personnal interests the mainspring of his life and he is greedy to make use of everything that can benefit him, he naturally enters into conflict with other persons, acting also in their interests, hence the disagreements that can become a hundred years old, and drive whole generations to a mutual hate.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 42.

Life , Hate , Nature , Personality

“If man do not find in himself the required (or wished, or wanted, - "voulue", Fr.) force to accomplish his moral aspirations, he can try to purt himself in the conditions suitable to assist (or promote, or further, -"favoriser", Fr.) his self-control.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 50 [Spir rejected ascetism: for it is "opposed to sound reason to unnaturally impose onself extreme hardships"- Esquisse biographique, p. 32.

“In ancient times, any man rising up above the common people tried to shape his life according to his principles; it is no longer like than now; it is (because) for the ancients, moral was a principle of inner life, whereas in our days, most of the time one is content to adhere to an official moral, that we recognize in theory, but that one does not care to put into practice.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 39.

Life , People , Time

“The doctrine expounded by me is the true one, but I am not its author. I have only been, so to speak, the soil in which it has germinated and has developed itself with an extreme slowness in the course of long years. Also there has never been such a disproportion between the man and his work than in my case, and what is the saddest (or the saddest in this, - "et ce qui est le plus triste", Fr.), is that one has to suffer because of ("pâtir de", Fr.) the incapacity and the weakness of the other. A man more capable than me, possessing this doctrine, would already have stirred (or moved, - remuer", Fr.) the world.”

African Spir

Esquisse biographique, p. 18.
Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937)

World , Suffering

“It is from the education of the new generations that we will especially be able to expect a real moral progress. It is important first of all to develop in it (or 'him', the next generations…) self-control, love of truth and solidarity spirit.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 58.

Love , Truth , Education

“The peculiar (or own) value that such and such activity can have for a man rather really depends ("dépend bien plutôt", Fr.) on the spirit in which it was deployed (or displayed, - "déployée", Fr.) than its importance or its scope. Thus the most humble work (or task, - "besogne", Fr.) can be accomplished by a great genius, whereas the highest functions (or offices), such as to rule over a whole people, can be practised in a petty”

African Spir

or mean or stingy) spirit of personal glorification, as it is frequently seen.", Fr.
Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 49.

People , Dependency , Personality

“On the account (or for the reason that, or… from the fact that… "Du fait que", Fr.) that one person advocate and want something, it does not follow that others have to want it too; only the postulates of reason and certitude are identicals, invariables, and can always be of use to everyone as a fulcrum ("point d'appui", Fr.) with a view to a free agreement”

African Spir

"entente libre", Fr
Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 42.

Personality

“Place (or put) a spider on top of a mountain, it will only try to catch flies; alas, they are many those who, in the figurative meaning, have spider's eyes.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 52.

Mountain

“The basic notion of justice, is that the rights of everybody are equals, in principle. In the rights of others, we have to respect our own rights. It is only in that condition that we can reasonnably require that it be respected by others.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 44 - (Gandhi said the same thing in All men are brothers; Simone Weil too, at the beginning of L'enracinement (the translator).

Justice

“Experience shows that what great role pratice and experience play in education; pratice, the prolonged exercice lead to habit: exemple suggests imitation. Habit can become a second nature, but, wrongly directed (or guided), it may also heighten (or intensify) unfortunate tendencies and be an obstacle to progress.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 57.

Education , Nature

“To reform society, and with it humanity, there is only one mean; to transform the mentality of men, to direct them ("les orienter", Fr.) in a new spirit.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 60.

Men

“The intellectual development of man, far from having get men away from war, has, rather, on the contrary, bring them to a refinment always more perfected in the art of killing. They even came to raise the methods of slaughter to the rank of "science"… We would not (On ne saurait", Fr.) imagine a more extraordinary moral blindness!”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 55.

Men , War , Art , Imagination

“Nothing that rest on some contradictory basis shall succeed or last in the long run ("ne saurait réussir ou durer, à la longue", Fr.); all that involve (or imply…) a contradiction is fatally destined, early or late, to disintegrate and disappear.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 37.

“Whether (If) in a banquet somebody was to take it upon himself to snatch pieces from the mouth of the guests, we would be unanimous to find the method iniquitous and brutal (or violent), but if from another source ("par ailleurs", Fr.) the same is practised in a less apparent (or visible) way (or guise), we hardly show ourselves offended (or shocked) by it ("quand par ailleurs la chose se pratique sous une forme moins apparente, on ne s'en montre guère offusqué." Fr.)”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 46.

Way

“Education has a tremendous power on man. Can't we see to which astonishing disciple the people of Sparte have submitted ("s'est plié", Fr.) for centuries, and this with a view to very petty purposes: purely outer greatness, the military predominace of Sparte. This example proves that man can everything on themselves when they want it ("peuvent tout sur eux-mêmes quand ils le veulent", Fr.); therefore it would only be a question of making them will the good.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 58.

People , Education , Question

“So many forces and resources would become available if States, aware (or conscious) of their true (or real) mission, would want to get on (or agree) to abolish every politics aiming at ("visant à", Fr.) expansion or hegemony; system that maintain among nations a a perpetual distrust and tension, impose on them (or force or compel, "leur impose", Fr.) formidable armies and crushing war budgets.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 54.

War

“See that unfortunate soldier who is falling hurt to death ("tombe blessé à…", Fr.) on the battlefield; he learns that his folks have vanquished and dies happy. He detached himself from himself (s'est détacher de lui-même", Fr.), has identified himself with something greater and more lasting than himself; his homeland ("patrie", Fr.); thus, while dying as an individual, he has the certainty to survive in a larger existence.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 53.

Death , Learning , Hurt , Happiness

“What is missing to our civilisation, is the soul, the spiritual unity, the basis. That is why everything in it is pretence and contrivance ("façade et artifice", Fr.); why also, in spite of the progress and marvellous improvement they have accomplished in the external realm ("domaine extérieur", Fr.) men have, in general, become themselves neither better, nor happier. They have neglected too much the essential; their own perfecting”

African Spir

or improvement - "perfectionnement", Fr.
Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 36 -First thought of the book, - the translator.

Men , Soul , Perfection

“Apart from selfish reasons, such as fear of punishments, fear of blame, of dishonour, etc, there remains only two motives that can stop (or prevent, "empâecher", Fr.) men from acting badly; the natural sense of commiseration (or "sympathy", - "commisération", Fr.) for one's fellow men - compassion, and the influence of education, by association of ideas ("par l'association d'idées", Fr.) - habit.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 57.

Men , Education , Fear , Motivation

“A good man ("un homme de bien", Fr.) never wholly perishes, the best part of his being outlives (or survives) in eternity.”

African Spir

Source: Words of a Sage : Selected thoughts of African Spir (1937), p. 44.

Parting