Today Quotes
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Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.Bertrand Russell, Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 1
One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness in all kinds of ways.Bertrand Russell, Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 9
Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.Bertrand Russell, Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 12
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals (1929) ch. 5
To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.Bertrand Russell, Marriage and Morals (1929) ch. 19
Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true.Bertrand Russell, Mysticism and Logic (1917) ch. 4
It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatsoever for supposing it is true.Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), "On the Value of Scepticism"
Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day.Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), "Dreams and Facts"
We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach but do not practice, and another which we practice but seldom preach.Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), "Eastern and Western Ideals of Happiness"
Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays (1950), "Outline of Intellectual Rubbish"