1,551 Quotes by Bertrand Russell

To be out of harmony with one’s surroundings is of course a misfortune, but it is not always a misfortune to be avoided at all costs. Where the environment is stupid or prejudiced or cruel, it is a sign of merit to be out of harmony with it.

The fundamental defect of Christian ethics consists in the fact that it labels certain classes of acts ‘sins’ and others ‘virtue’ on grounds that have nothing to do with their social consequences.

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.

Analytic It is clear that the definition of “logic” or “mathematics” must be sought by trying to give a new definition of the old notion of “analytic” propositions.

It’s not what you have lost, but what you have left that counts.

Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that is happiness.

There’s a Bible on that shelf there. But I keep it next to Voltaire – poison and antidote.

The three main extra-rational activities in modern life are religion, war, and love. all these are extra-rational, but love is not anti-rational, that is to say, a reasonable man may reasonably rejoice in its existence.

I’ve always thought respectable people scoundrels, and I look anxiously at my face every morning for signs of my becoming a scoundrel.