“At the very best, a mind enclosed in language is in prison. It is limited to the number of relations which words can make simultaneously present to it; and remains in ignorance of thoughts which involve the combination of a greater number. These thoughts are outside language, they are unformulable, although they are perfectly rigorous and clear and although every one of the relations they involve is capable of precise expression in words. So the mind moves in a closed space of partial truth, which may be larger or smaller, without ever being able so much as to glance at what is outside.”

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About Simone Weil

French philosopher, mystic, political activist and labourer

Simone Adolphine Weil was a French philosopher, mystic, political activist, and labourer. She is remembered for a body of thought that continued to shape contemporary philosophy after her short life ended. Her writing and thinking centered on religion, spirituality, and politics. Those themes gave her work a lasting reach, especially among readers drawn to serious moral and political reflection.

More from Simone Weil (108 quotes) →

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Books by Simone Weil

Oppression et liberté

1978

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The Simone Weil reader

1985

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