Simone Weil

"There is something else which has the power to awaken us to the truth. It is the works of writers of genius. They give us, in the guise of fiction, something equivalent to the actual density of the real, that density which life offers us every day but which we are unable to grasp because we are amusing ourselves with lies."

18 likes

Source: Simone Weil (1977). “The Simone Weil Reader”

About the author

Simone Weil

Simone Weil

Philosopher, Activist

Simone Weil was a French philosopher and political activist known for her profound insights on attention, suffering, and the human condition.

All quotes by Simone Weil →

Same author

More quotes by Simone Weil

See all →
Simone Weil Philosopher, Activist

"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."

Read quote
Simone Weil Philosopher, Activist

"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."

Read quote
Simone Weil Philosopher, Activist

"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."

Read quote