CARTESIAN DIAMONDS

This is by no means an original entry by its content.---This is merely a mini-collection of Dèscartes’ quotes. Still, there are two good reasons to make this entry postable. One is that, as an integral part of the Cartesian whole, it is not to be neglected for the reason that it is “nothing but the quotes.” The other reason is that the criterion of originality is adequately met in the creation of this entry. My particular selection of quotes here is original enough. Some more familiar quotes are being used elsewhere in this series, and thus do not find themselves repeated in this entry. There are also other fairly popular Cartesian quotes which I am not overly excited about. As a result, my selection is unusual and distinctly personal, which, in all, constitutes this entry’s undeniable originality.

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“It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.”

“If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”

“The senses deceive from time to time, and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once.”

“The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.”

“An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?”

“When it is not in our power to determine what is true, we ought to follow what is most probable.”

“The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellencies, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations”

“The two operations of our understanding, intuition and deduction, on which alone we have said we must rely in the acquisition of knowledge.” (Who says Dèscartes was a pure rationalist?!)

“In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate.” (This is exactly what I used to be taught in my childhood: do not always be busy-busy; cherish your leisure as a time of contemplation.)

“Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it.”