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René Descartes

Quote of René Descartes - It is not enough to have...


Biography - René Descartes:

French philosopher, mathematician and scientist.
Born: 1596 - Died: 1650
Period:
17th century
Place of birth: France
France

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


Note 

Note




Source: Discourse on the Method

Wikisource - Œuvres de Descartes (fr) 



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



Translation

Translation

(French, German)



French
Ce n'est pas assez d'avoir l'esprit bon, mais le principal est de l'appliquer bien.

German
Denn es ist nicht genug, einen guten Kopf zu haben; die Hauptsache ist, ihn richtig anzuwenden.




See also 

See also...



Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.


Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

Good is not something to contemplate; it is something to be done.

All good maxims are in the world. We only need to apply them.

So in order to act well it is sufficient to judge well, and to judge as well as one can is sufficient to enable one to do one's best.

A good moral, my lord: it is not enough to speak, but to speak true.




Quotes for: good


Quotes

Quotes for: good


The usual pretext of those who make others unhappy is that they do it for their own good.





Do not wait to be perfect to start something good.





Where all is well, there is no such thing as injustice. Justice and goodness are inseparable.





To do good needs no consideration.





The best is the enemy of good.





How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.











Quotes for: mind


Quotes

Quotes about mind:


Hide your life and spread your spirit.





A healthy mind in a healthy body.





The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.





When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.





My spirit yearns for action, my breath for freedom.





It is spirit that rules the world, not intelligence.











Quotes

René Descartes also said...


To live without philosophizing is properly to have one's eyes closed and never attempt to open them.





I dare to believe that inner joy has some secret power to win the favour of fortune.





Good sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it, that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else, do not usually desire a larger measure of this quality than they already possess. And in this it is not likely that all are mistaken: the conviction is rather to be held as testifying that the power of judging aright and of distinguishing truth from error, which is properly what is called good sense or reason, is by nature equal in all men; and that the diversity of our opinions, consequently, does not arise from some being endowed with a larger share of reason than others, but solely from this, that we conduct our thoughts along different ways, and do not fix our attention on the same objects. For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.





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





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.





I think, therefore I am.












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