Henri Frederic Amiel
Henri Frederic Amiel
Henri Frédéric Amielwas a Swiss moral philosopher, poet, and critic...
NationalitySwiss
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth27 September 1821
CountrySwitzerland
music ocean blessed
Mozart has the classic purity of light and the blue ocean; Beethoven the romantic grandeur which belongs to the storms of air and sea, and while the soul of Mozart seems to dwell on the ethereal peaks of Olympus, that of Beethoven climbs shuddering the storm-beaten sides of a Sinai. Blessed be they both! Each represents a moment of the ideal life, each does us good. Our love is due to both.
children blessed childhood
Blessed be childhood, which brings down something of heaven into the midst of our rough earthliness.
soul suffering witness
Its way of suffering is the witness which a soul bares to itself.
capable living
So as long as a person is capable of self-renewal, they are a living being.
exercises faith inevitable life profession silent
Every life is a profession of faith and exercises an inevitable and silent influence.
action becomes
Action is only coarsened thought; thought becomes concrete, obscure, and unconscious.
crushing destiny fate fulfilling refusing ways wishes
Destiny has two ways of crushing us -- by refusing our wishes and by fulfilling them.
Tell me what you think you are and I will tell you what you are not
action both criticism faith liking order persistent troubled truth
A lively, disinterested, persistent liking for truth is extraordinarily rare. Action and faith enslave thought, both of them in order not to be troubled or inconvenienced by reflection, criticism or doubt.
french passion thirst truth
The thirst for truth is not a French passion
according duty
Our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires, but according to our powers.
advice haste life swift
Life is short. Be swift to love! Make haste to be kind!
haste hearts life short swift time travel
Life is short and we never have enough time for gladdening the hearts of those who travel the way with us. Oh, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind.
corner fallow heart leave mystery ready seed soil turning winds
Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the ploughshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring...