René Descartes Quotes

Έκρινα ότι τίποτα γερό δεν μπορούσε να έχει χριστεί πάνω σε τόσο ασταθή θεμέλια

« En un mot, s'il y a au monde quelque ouvrage qui ne puisse être si bien achevé par aucun autre que par le même qui l'a commencé, c'est celui auquel je travaille».

But even if all agreed together, it would not be enough to have their teachings. For we shall never be mathematicians, say, even if we retain in memory all the proofs others have given, unless we ourselves have the mental aptitude of solving any given problem; we shall never be philosophers, if we have read all the arguments of Plato and Aristotle but cannot form a solid judgment on matters set before us; this sort of learning would appear historical rather than scientific. Further, this Rule counsels us against ever mixing up any conjectures with our judgments as to the truth of things. It is of no small importance to observe this; for the chief reason why in the common philosophy there is nothing to be found whose certitude is so apparent as to be beyond controversy is that those who practice it have not begun by contenting themselves with the recognition of what is clear and certain, but have ventured on the further assertion of what was obscure and unknown and was arrived at only through probable conjectures. These assertions they have later on themselves gradually come to hold with complete confidence, and have mixed them up indiscriminately with evident truths; and the final result was their inability to draw any conclusion that did not seem to depend on some such proposition, and consequently to draw any that was not uncertain.

I doubt;
Therefore, I think
Therefore, I am.

I see;
I take in the colours around me.
The patterns, the lights, the rainbows.
I see the night and the stars that glow.

I dream;
Therefore, I think.
Therefore, I am.

I smell;
The perfumes, the roses.
The stench, the rotten and the putrid.
The aromas and delicacies;
Cooking.

I inhale;
The green, the forest, the trees.
Therefore, I think.
Therefore, I am.

I hear;
The noises. The people, the cheer.
The wails, the screams, the tears.
The rejoicing.
The laughter, and happiness.

I listen;
Therefore, I think.
Therefore, I am.

I taste;
The sweetness, the fire.
The treats, and savoury delights.
The burnt, the spoilt and the tasteless.
The sourness and the bitterness.

I eat;
Therefore, I think.
Therefore, I am.

I speak;
Short messages. Long speeches.
Quiet whispers. Bellowing noises.

I scream;
Therefore, I think,
Therefore, I am.

I feel;
The despair.
The anguish, the fear.
The pricks, the cuts, the injuries.
The joy. The pride. The seething.
The envy, greed, and jealousy.
The cold, the heat and the shivering.
The pain, the sickness, the ageing.

I die;
Therefore, I lived.
Therefore, I was.

I fear being shaken out of them because I am afraid that my peaceful sleep may be followed by hard labour when I wake, and that I shall have to struggle not in the light but in the imprisoning darkness of the problems I have raised.

Moreover, I am aware that most of the irreligious deny the existence of God, and the distinctness of the human soul from the body, for no other reason than because these points, as they allege, have never as yet been demonstrated.

Γνωρίζω ότι υπάρχω, και ρωτάω ποιος είμαι εγώ, το εγώ που γνωρίζω. Είναι παραπάνω από βέβαιο ότι γνώση που έχω γι' αυτό το εγώ, με την ακριβή του έννοια, δεν εξαρτάται από αυτό που δεν γνωρίζω ακόμα αν υπάρχει.

...we ought also to consider as false all that is doubtful.

so that even although he had from the beginning given it no other form than that of chaos, provided only he had established certain laws of nature, and had lent it his concurrence to enable it to act as it is wont to do, it may be believed, without discredit to the miracle of creation, that, in this way alone, things purely material might, in course of time, have become such as we observe them at present; and their nature is much more easily conceived when they are beheld coming in this manner gradually into existence, than when they are only considered as produced at once in a finished and perfect state.

Για την ακρίβεια, με βασάνιζαν τόσες αμφίβολιες και σφάλματα ώστε νόμιζα πως, στην προσπάθεια μου να μορφωθώ, δεν είχα αποκομίσει κανένα όφελος πέρα απ' ότι διαπίστωνα όλο και πιο περισσότερο την άγνοια μου.

He who hid well, lived well.

Και όπως ένας σκλάβος, που απολάμβανε στον ύπνο του μια φανταστική ελευθερία, μόλις αρχίσει να υποπτεύεται ότι ονειρεύεται, φοβάται μην ξυπνήσει και κρατάει τα μάτια τουκλειστά, ενώ ευχάριστες ψευδαισθήσεις τον νανουρίζουν, έτσι και εγώ επιστρέφω ασυναίσθητα στις παλιές απόψεις μου και φοβάμαι μήπως ξυπνήσω, μήπως η επώδυνη αφύπνιση που ακολουθεί μια γλυκιά γαλήνη, στο μέλλον δεν συμβεί κάτω από φως, αλλά μέσα στο δαιδαλώδες σκοτάδι των δυσκολιών που μόλις θίξαμε.

One should never judge anything unless it is known.

That is why I can’t in any way approve of those MEDDLESOME and RESTLESS characters who, without being called by BIRTH or by FORTUNE to the management of public affairs, are yet forever thinking up some new reform! If I thought this present work contained the SLIGHTEST ground for suspecting me of such FOLLY, I would SHRINK from allowing it to be published! My plan has NEVER gone beyond trying to reform my own thoughts and to build on a foundation that is ALL MY OWN. If I’m pleased enough with my work to present you with this sketch of it, it’s not because I would advise anyone to imitate it. Those on whom GOD has bestowed more of his favours than he has on me will PERHAPS have higher aims; but I’m afraid that this project of mine may be too bold for many people! The mere decision to rid myself all the opinions I have hitherto accepted isn’t an example that everyone ought to follow! The world is mostly made up of two types of minds for whom it is QUITE unsuitable. (1) There are those who, believing themselves cleverer than they are, can’t help rushing to judgment and can’t muster the patience to direct all their thoughts in an ORDERLY manner. So that if they ONCE took the liberty of doubting the principles they have accepted and leaving the common path, they would NEVER be able to stay on the straighter path that they ought to take, AND would REMAIN lost ALL their LIVES. (2) And there are those who are reasonable enough, or modest enough, to THINK that they can’t distinguish true from false as well as some other people by whom they can be taught. THESE should be content to follow the opinions of those others rather than to seek better opinions themselves.

I am accustomed to sleep and in my dreams to imagine the same things that lunatics imagine when awake.