Bernard Williams

People have been predicting the death of philosophy since the 17th century. When I was a student, people were saying, 'We're in…

— Bernard Williams

A friend is a lot of things, but a critic isn't.

— Bernard Williams

This is the end of the day, but soon there will be a new day.

— Bernard Williams

Tranquility is like quicksilver. The harder you grab for it, the less likely you will grasp it.

— Bernard Williams

If there's one theme in all my work, it's about authenticity and self-expression. It's the idea that some things are, in some…

— Bernard Williams

“That an action would be cowardly is not often found by an agent to be a consideration in its favor, but it…

— Bernard Williams

We must escape our illusions of correctness to understand the actions and beliefs of others.

— Bernard Williams

You are mature when you know what is foolhardy and what is courage.

— Bernard Williams

The majority of philosophers are totally humorless. That's part of their trouble.

— Bernard Williams

Few things move as quietly as the future.

— Bernard Williams

People who say, 'Let the chips fall where they may,' usually figure they will not be hit by a chip.

— Bernard Williams

Virtually the only subject in which one could ever get a scholarship to Oxford or Cambridge was classics. So I went to…

— Bernard Williams

The average man will bristle if you say his father was dishonest, but he will brag a little if he discovers that…

— Bernard Williams

No symphony orchestra ever played music like a two-year-old girl laughing with a puppy.

— Bernard Williams

We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.

— Bernard Williams

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.

— Bernard Williams

Disagreement does not necessarily have to be overcome. It may remain an important and constitutive feature of our relations to others and…

— Bernard Williams

What a strange world this would be if we all had the same sense of humor.

— Bernard Williams

I was interested in philosophy before I knew I was. That's to say, when I was at school, I used to argue…

— Bernard Williams

'Humanity' is a name not merely for a species but also for a quality.

— Bernard Williams

Tragedy is formed 'round ideas it does not expound, and to understand its history is, in some part, to understand those ideas…

— Bernard Williams

Talent is a flame. Genius is a fire.

— Bernard Williams

There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.

— Bernard Williams

“Utilitarians are often immensely conscientious people, who work for humanity and give up meat for the sake of the animals. They think…

— Bernard Williams

I like the word "indolence." It makes my laziness seem classy.

— Bernard Williams