Simone Weil Quotes

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. Simone Weil Letter to Joë Bousquet on April 13, 1942. "Correspondance", published by Editions l'Age d'Homme in Lausanne, p. 18, 1982. 

The need of truth is more sacred than any other need. Simone Weil, Truth Is "The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties Towards Mankind". 

We must not wish for the disappearance of our troubles but for the grace to transform them. Simone Weil 

Pain and suffering are a kind of currency passed from hand to hand until they reach someone who receives them but does not pass them on. Simone Weil 

Just as the power of the sun is the only force in the natural universe that causes a plant to grow against gravity, so the grace of God is the only force in the spiritual universe that causes a person to grow against the gravity of their own ego. Simone Weil 

Compassion directed toward oneself is true humility. Simone Weil 

There are only two things that pierce the human heart. One is beauty. The other is affliction. Simone Weil

If someone does me injury I must desire that this injury shall not degrade me. I must desire this out of love for him who inflicts it, in order that he may not really have done evil.  Simone Weil (2002). “Gravity and Grace”, p.74, Psychology Press 

Human beings are so made that the ones who do the crushing feel nothing; it is the person crushed who feels what is happening. Unless one has placed oneself on the side of the oppressed, to feel with them, one cannot understand. Simone Weil (1978). “Lectures on Philosophy”, p.139, Cambridge University Press   

The love of our neighbor in all its fullness simply means being able to say, "What are you going through? Simone Weil (1973). “Waiting for God” 

To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul. Simone Weil Simone Weil (2003). “The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties Towards Mankind”, p.43, Routledge  

All sins are attempts to fill voids. Simone Weil Inspirational, Memorable, Void La Pesanteur et la Grace "Desirer sans Objet" (1948)  

Whenever one tries to suppress doubt , there is tyranny. Simone Weil (1978). “Lectures on Philosophy”, p.103, Cambridge University Press 

The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering but a supernatural use for it. Simone Weil (2002). “Gravity and Grace”, p.81, Psychology Press

The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell. Simone Weil (2015). “Selected Essays, 1934-1943: Historical, Political, and Moral Writings”, p.26, Wipf and Stock Publishers 

  ...nothing on earth can stop man from feeling himself born for liberty. Never, whatever may happen, can he accept servitude; for he is a thinking creature. Simone Weil (2013). “Oppression and Liberty”, p.79, Routledge 

 Difficult as it is really to listen to someone in affliction, it is just as difficult for him to know that compassion is listening to him.  Simone Weil (1973). “Waiting for God: Translated by Emma Craufurd ; With an Introd. by Leslie A. Fiedler” 

 Power ... is the supreme end for all those who have not understood. Simone Weil Simone Weil (2002). “Gravity and Grace”, p.146, Psychology Press

God's love for us is not the reason for which we should love him. God's love for us is the reason for us to love ourselves. Simone Weil  Simone Weil (2002). “Gravity and Grace”, p.62, Psychology Press 

Love: To feel with one's whole self the existence of another being. Simone Weil (2015). “First and Last Notebooks: Supernatural Knowledge”, p.9, Wipf and Stock Publishers

 It is only from the light which streams constantly from heaven that a tree can derive the energy to strike its roots deep into the soil. The tree is in fact rooted in the sky. Simone Weil

Evil when we are in its power is not felt as evil but as a necessity, or even a duty. Simone Weil (2002). “Gravity and Grace”, p.71, Psychology Press 

A hurtful act is the transference to others of the degradation which we bear in ourselves.  Simone Weil (2002). “Gravity and Grace”, p.72, Psychology Press

Art is the symbol of the two noblest human efforts: to construct and to refrain from destruction. Simone Weil (2015). “First and Last Notebooks: Supernatural Knowledge”, p.42, Wipf and Stock Publishers  

Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer. Simone Weil (2002). “Gravity and Grace”, p.117, Psychology Press