“Herein is a capital truth. It is not the natural capacity, the congenital gift, nor is it the effort, the will, the work, which in the intelligence as sway over the energy capable of making it fully efficacious. It is uniquely the desire, that is, the desire for beauty. This desire, given a certain degree of intensity and purity, is the same thing as genius. At all levels it is the same thing as attention. If this were understood, the whole conception of teaching would be quite other than it is. First, one would realize that the intelligence functions only in joy. Intelligence is perhaps even the only one of our faculties to which joy is indispensible. The absence of joy asphyxiates it.”

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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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