“We believe we are rising because while keeping the same base inclinations (for instance: the desire to triumph over others) we have given them a noble object. We should, on the contrary, rise by attaching noble inclinations to lowly objects.”
Croire qu’on s’élève parce qu’en gardant les mêmes bas penchants (exemple : désir de l’emporter sur autrui) on leur a donné des objets élevés. On s’élèverait au contraire en attachant à des objets bas des penchants élevés.
La pesanteur et la grâce (1948), p. 61
Source: Gravity and Grace (1947), p. 48 (1972 edition)
Original
Croire qu’on s’élève parce qu’en gardant les mêmes bas penchants (exemple : désir de l’emporter sur autrui) on leur a donné des objets élevés. On s’élèverait au contraire en attachant à des objets bas des penchants élevés.
Gravity and Grace (1947)
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Simone Weil 193
French philosopher, Christian mystic, and social activist 1909–1943Related quotes

“We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know, because they have never deceived us.”
No. 80 (October 27, 1759)
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Sonnet IV
Sonnets (1844)

Thoughts in Solitude (1956)
Context: Contradictions have always existed in the soul of [individuals]. But it is only when we prefer analysis to silence that they become a constant and insoluble problem. We are not meant to resolve all contradictions but to live with them and rise above them and see them in the light of exterior and objective values which make them trivial by comparison.

Ten Years' Exile (Dix années d'exil, written 1810–1813, posthumously published 1821), ch. 16

“Why should we rise because 'tis light?
Did we lie down because t'was night?”
Source: Shakespeare's Sonnets

Rajagopalachari, quoted in: Monica Felton (1962) Rajaji, p. 57

Source: Unfortunately, It Was Paradise: Selected Poems

Source: Object-Oriented Software Engineering: A Use Case Driven Approach (1992), p. 133 as cited in: " Object Oriented Software Engineering: A Use Case Driven Approach Ivar Jacobson, et al. (1992) http://tedfelix.com/software/jacobson1992.html", Book review by Ted Felix on tedfelix.com, 2006.