Pure truth cannot be assimilated by the crowd; it must be communicated by contagion. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Sacrifice still exists everywhere, and everywhere the elect of each generation suffers for the salvation of the rest. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Let us be true: this is the highest maxim of art and of life, the secret of eloquence and of virtue — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Learn to… be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Our systems, perhaps, are nothing more than an unconscious apology for our faults — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Sacrifice, which is the passion of great souls, has never been the law of societies. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. Humanity only begins for man with self-surrender. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Tears are the symbol of the inability of the soul to restrain its emotion and retain its self command. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Music is harmony, harmony is perfection, perfection is our dream, and our dream is heaven. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Materialism coarsens and petrifies everything, making everything vulgar, and every truth false. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Tell me what you feel in your room when the full moon is shining in upon you and your lamp is dying out — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
To know how to suggest is the great art of teaching. To attain it we must be able to guess what — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
The test of every religious, political, or educational system is the man that it forms. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Woman is the salvation or the destruction of the family. She carries its destiny in the folds of her mantle. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Women wish to be loved without a why or a wherefore; not because they are pretty, or good — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Common sense is the measure of the possible; it is composed of experience and prevision — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Analysis kills spontaneity. The grain once ground into flour springs and germinates no more. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Blessed be childhood, which brings down something of heaven into the midst of our rough earthliness. — Henri-Frédéric Amiel