The real stumbling-block of totalitarian regimes is not the spiritual need of men for freedom of thought; it is men's inability to stand the physical and nervous strain of a permanent state of excitement, except during a few years of… — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
Oppression that is clearly inexorable and invincible does not give rise to revolt but to submission. — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased… — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
One should identify oneself with the universe itself. Everything that is less than the universe is subjected to suffering. — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying… — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it… — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell. — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
To be innocent is to bear the weight of the entire universe. It is to throw away the counterweight. — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
Equality is the public recognition, effectively expressed in institutions and manners, of the principle that an equal degree of attention is due to the… — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
A beautiful woman looking at her image in the mirror may very well believe the image is herself. An ugly woman knows it is… — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
Only he who has measured the dominion of force, and knows how not to respect it, is capable of love andjustice. — Simone Weil Copy Share Image
