Famous Quotes by Bertrand Russell

“To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already 3-parts dead.”

“Those who have never known the deep intimacy and the intense companionship of happy mutual love have missed the best thing that life has to give.”

“I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.”

“Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or what you think could have beneficent social effects if it were believed; but look only and solely at what are the facts.”

“It is possible that mankind is on the threshold of a golden age; but, if so, it will be necessary first to slay the dragon that guards the door, and this dragon is religion.”

“To teach how to live without certainty, and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can still do for those who study it.”

It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.

The secret of happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible.

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.

The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.

A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dares live.

Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.

Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd.

Extreme hopes are born from extreme misery.

There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.

Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.

The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented Hell.

Those who have never known the deep intimacy and the intense companionship of mutual love have missed the best thing that life has to give.

The secret to happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible.

Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines.

A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live.

Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate.

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd.

To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years.

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

I believe in using words, not fists. I believe in my outrage knowing people are living in boxes on the street. I believe in honesty. I believe in a good time. I believe in good food. I believe in sex.

Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.

Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.

In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.

Democracy is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame.

The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history.

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.