The largest part of what we call ‘personality’ is determined by how we’ve opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness”.
ALAIN DE BOTTONWhich seems no less relevant in the secular realm than in the religious one-that we have within us a precious, childlike, vulnerable core which we should nourish and nurture on its turbulent journey through life.
More Alain de Botton Quotes
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We are all more intelligent than we are capable, and awareness of the insanity of love has never saved anyone from the disease.
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Most of us still caged within careers chosen for us by our not entirely worldly 18-22 year old selves.
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Literature deserves its prestige for one reason above all others – because it’s a tool to help us live and die with a little bit more wisdom, goodness, and sanity.
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William James once made an acute point about the relationship between happiness and expectation. He argued that satisfaction with ourselves does not require us to succeed in every endeavour.
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Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? Everyone loves strength, but do you love me for my weakness? That is the real test.
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One of the best protections against disappointment is to have a lot going on.
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Most victories are, in the best way, acts of revenge.
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The greatest works of art speak to us without knowing us.
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As we write, so we build: to keep a record of what matters to us.
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Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one’s own ambitions.
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Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own – but that we could never have described on our own.
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Kant and Hegel are interesting thinkers. But I am happy to insist that they are also terrible writers.
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Never too late to learn some embarrassingly basic, stupidly obvious things about oneself.
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Philosophy had supplied Socrates with convictions in which he had been able to have rational, as opposed to hysterical, confidence when faced with disapproval.
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A successful work will draw out the features capable of exciting a sense of beauty and interest in the spectator.
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