Salvador de Madariaga Quotes

My knowledge of myself is direct, synthetic, from within outwards; my knowledge of other persons is indirect, analytical, from outside inwards. My knowledge of myself starts at the core; that of others at the crust.

Art is the conveyance of spirit by means of matter.

He is free who knows how to keep in his own hands the power to decide at each step, the course of his life, and who lives in a society which does not block the exercise of that power.

No one has ever succeeded in keeping nations at war except by lies.

Inequality is the inevitable consequence of liberty.

Love has its roots in sex, but its foliage and flowers are in the pure light of spirit.

Liberty of thought means liberty to communicate one's thought.

Considering how bad men are, it is wonderful how well they behave.

A general must be shot or befriended - but never hurt.

Action is the music of our life. Like music, it starts from a pause of leisure, a silence of activity which our initiative attacks; then it develops according to its inner logic, passes its climax, seeks its cadence, ends, and restores silence, leisure again. Action and leisure are thus interdependent; echoing and recalling each other, so that action enlivens leisure with its memories and anticipations, and leisure expands and raises action beyond its mere immediate self and gives it a permanent meaning.

Sermons seldom convert sinners; they sometimes goad them into more sin.

Your conscience is no defense against you sins; however, it can unfortunately deny you the pleasure of enjoying them.

The Anglo-Saxon conscience does not prevent the Anglo-Saxon from sinning, it merely prevents him from enjoying his sin.

On the one hand, it is in and through creative minds that the community fulfils itself at its best and reaches its highest forms; and on the other, it is from them that the community recovers the social substance with which it had nourished them, transfigured by their creative alchemy into a still higher social substance.

The best pastimes for a true enjoyer of leisure who has to stay at home . . .: reading by the fireside. . . . Listening to music.

He is free knows how to keep in his own hands the power to decide.

Circumstances are the seeds of literature.

The American language differs from the English in that it seeks the top of expression while English seeks its lowly valleys.