Nicolás Gómez Dávila Quotes

The curve of man’s knowledge of himself ascends until the 17th century, declines gradually afterwards, in this century it finally plummets

Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies fromindifference toward the unique values which created it.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

The greatest modern error is not to proclaim that God died, but to believe that the devil has died.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

It is impossible to convince the fool that there are pleasures superior to those we share with the rest of the animals.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Ideas tyrannize the man who has but few.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Hierarchies are celestial. In hell all are equal.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

The particular creature we love is never God’s rival. What ends in apostasy is the worship of man, the cult of humanity.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Liberty is not an end, but a means. Whoever mistakes it for an end does not know what to do once he attains it.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

To demand that the intelligence abstain from judging mutilates its faculty of understanding.It is in the value judgment that understanding culminates.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Being a reactionary is not about believing in certain solutions, but about having an acute sense of the complexity of the problems.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

The individual seeks out the heat of the crowd, in this century, to protect himself against the cold emanating from the corpse of the world.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Swimming against the current is not idiotic if the waters are racing toward a waterfall.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

To be right is just one more reason not to achieve any success.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Everything that makes man feel that mystery envelops him makes him more intelligent.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

In unremarkable texts we soon trip on phrases that penetrate into us, as if a sword has thrust up to its hilt inside us.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Phrases are pebbles that the writer tosses into the reader’s soul.The diameter of the concentric waves they displace depends on the dimensions of the pond.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Modern man is a prisoner who thinks he is free because he refrains from touching the walls of his dungeon.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

In an age in which the media broadcast countless pieces of foolishness, the educated man is defined not by what he knows, but by what he doesn't know.

Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Nicolás Gómez Dávila Quotes

The curve of man’s knowledge of himself ascends until the 17th century, declines gradually afterwards, in this century it finally plummets

The philosopher is not the spokesman of his age, but an angel imprisoned in time.

The anarchy that threatens a degrading society is not its punishment, but its remedy.

Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies fromindifference toward the unique values which created it.

The greatest modern error is not to proclaim that God died, but to believe that the devil has died.

It is impossible to convince the fool that there are pleasures superior to those we share with the rest of the animals.

Ideas tyrannize the man who has but few.

Hierarchies are celestial. In hell all are equal.

The particular creature we love is never God’s rival. What ends in apostasy is the worship of man, the cult of humanity.

Liberty is not an end, but a means. Whoever mistakes it for an end does not know what to do once he attains it.

To demand that the intelligence abstain from judging mutilates its faculty of understanding.It is in the value judgment that understanding culminates.

Being a reactionary is not about believing in certain solutions, but about having an acute sense of the complexity of the problems.

The individual seeks out the heat of the crowd, in this century, to protect himself against the cold emanating from the corpse of the world.

Swimming against the current is not idiotic if the waters are racing toward a waterfall.

To be right is just one more reason not to achieve any success.

Everything that makes man feel that mystery envelops him makes him more intelligent.

In unremarkable texts we soon trip on phrases that penetrate into us, as if a sword has thrust up to its hilt inside us.

Phrases are pebbles that the writer tosses into the reader’s soul.The diameter of the concentric waves they displace depends on the dimensions of the pond.

Modern man is a prisoner who thinks he is free because he refrains from touching the walls of his dungeon.

In an age in which the media broadcast countless pieces of foolishness, the educated man is defined not by what he knows, but by what he doesn't know.