"This being who wills and can perform his will, this being active through his own power, this being, whoever he may be, who moves the universe and orders all things, is what I call God. To this name I add the ideas of intelligence, power, will, which I have brought together, and that of kindness which is their necessary consequence; but for all this I know no more of the being to which I ascribe them. He hides himself alike from my senses and my understanding; the more I think of him, the more perplexed I am; I know full well that he exists, and that he exists of himself alone; I know that my existence depends on his, and that everything I know depends upon him also. I see God everywhere in his works; I feel him within myself; I behold him all around me; but if I try to ponder him himself, if I try to find out where he is, what he is, what is his substance, he escapes me and my troubled spirit finds nothing."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
translated by Barbara Foxley
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile%2C_or_On_Education
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Emile, or On Education
Emile, or On Education or Émile, Or Treatise on Education is a treatise on the nature of education and on the nature of man written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered it to be the best and most important of all his writings. Due to a section of the book entitled “Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,” Emile was banned in Paris and Geneva and was publicly burned in 1762, the year of its first publication. During the French Revolution, Emile served as the inspiration for what became a n
391 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Emile, or On Education →
Related Quotes
"Parents choose a husband for their daughter and she is only consulted as a matter of form; that is the custom. We sha…"
"If you would guard against these abuses, and secure happy marriages, you must stifle your prejudices, forget human in…"
"I cannot repeat too often that I am not dealing with prodigies. Emile is no prodigy, neither is Sophy. He is a man an…"
""Husband and wife should choose each other. A mutual liking should be the first bond between them. They should follow…"
"Not every one can realise the motive power to be found in a love of what is right, nor the inner strength which resul…"
"The reply was simple. If it were only a question of the partner of her youth, her choice would soon be made; but a ma…"
"I am glad you feel this," said I, "but you need not be surprised; where strangers are scarce, they are welcome; nothi…"
"What is there to kindle the hearts of lovers for whom this perfection is nothing, for whom the loved one is merely th…"
"In a word, she endures patiently the wrong-doing of others, and she is eager to atone for her own. This amiability is…"
"By nature man thinks but seldom. He learns to think as he acquires the other arts, but with even greater difficulty. …"