Bertrand Arthur William Russell

England
18 May 1872 // 2 Feb 1970
Philosopher / Mathematician

Quotes

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Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines
Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their country
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons
Order, unity, and continuity are human inventions, just as truly as catalogues and encyclopedias
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important
None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear
No one gossips about other people's secret virtues
Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear
Much that passes as idealism is disguised hatred or disguised love of power
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On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays