George Santayana Quotes

George Santayana — Spanish Philosopher born on December 16, 1863, died on September 26, 1952

Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known as George Santayana, was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Spanish-born, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States and identified himself as an American, although he always kept a valid Spanish passport. He wrote in English and is generally considered an American man of letters. At the age of forty-eight, Santayana left his position at Harvard and returned to Europe permanently, never to return to the United States. His last wish was to be buried in the Spanish pantheon in Rome.. (wikipedia)

The tendency to gather and to breed philosophers in universities does not belong to ages of free and humane reflection: it is scholastic and proper to the Middle Ages and to Germany.

Friends are generally of the same sex, for when men and women agree, it is only in the conclusions; their reasons are always different.

There is a kind of courtesy in skepticism. It would be an offense against polite conventions to press our doubts too far.

The irrational in the human has something about it altogether repulsive and terrible, as we see in the maniac, the miser, the drunkard or the ape.

It takes patience to appreciate domestic bliss; volatile spirits prefer unhappiness.