197 Quotes by Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Criticism is above all a gift, an intuition, a matter of tact and flair; it cannot be taught or demonstrated – it is an art.

He who is silent is forgotten; he who does not advance falls back; he who stops is overwhelmed; out distanced, crushed; he who ceases t grow becomes smaller; he who leaves off, gives up; the condition of standing still is the beginning of the end.

Life is but a daily oscillation between revolt and submission.

Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first, but keeps you warm for a long time.

Destiny has two ways of crushing us – by refusing our wishes and by fulfilling them.

Time is the supreme illusion. It is but the inner prism by which we decompose being and life, the mode under which we perceive successively what is simultaneous in idea.

To be misunderstood even by those whom one loves is the cross and bitterness of life. It is the secret of that sad and melancholy smile on the lips of great men which so few understand.

What we do not understand we have no right to judge.

Order means light and peace, inward liberty and free command over one’s self; order is power.