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That teaching of modern metaphysics ... exhorts man to feel comparatively little esteem for the truly thinking portion of himself and to honor the active and willing part of himself with all his devotion.

— Julien Benda

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More quotes by Julien Benda

From his loftiest pulpit the modern clerc assures man that he is great in proportion as he is practical.

Treason of the Intellectuals (1927)

That teaching according to which intellectual activity is worthy of esteem to the extent that it is practical and to that extent alone.

Treason of the Intellectuals (1927)

The modern moralists extol … the cult of practical activity in defiance of the disinterested life.

Treason of the Intellectuals (1927)

The desire to abase the values of knowledge before the values of action...

Treason of the Intellectuals (1927)

The modern clercs have created in so-called cultivated society a positive romanticism of harshness. The have also created a romanticism of contempt.

Treason of the Intellectuals (1927)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Julien Benda (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.