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One of the better guarantors of ending up in a good relationship: an advanced capacity to be alone.

Alain de Botton

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Alain de Botton
Age: 54
Born: 1969
Born: December 20
Journalist
Philosopher
Publisher
Writer
City of Zurich
Alain De Botton
Ending
Capacity
Relationship
Alone
Better
Good
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Bitterness: anger that forgot where it came from.
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Responsible for wrapping the iron fist of authority in its velvet glove is Jane Axtell, head of the accountancy firm's Human Resources department.
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Insomnia is a glamorous term for thoughts you forgot to have in the day.
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It is no coincidence that the Western attraction to sublime landscapes developed at precisely the moment when traditional beliefs in God began to wane.
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Rather than employing it as a supplement to active, conscious seeing, they used the medium as a substitute, paying less attention to the world than they had done previously, taking it on faith that photography automatically assured them possession of it.
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To be shown love is to feel ourselves the object of concern: our presence is noted, our name is registered, our views are listened to, our failings are treated with indulgence and our needs are ministered to. And under such care, we flourish.
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For all his understanding of worldly concerns, when it came to fathoming the deeper meaning of his own furious activity, Sir Bob displayed the sort of laziness for which he himself had no patience in others. He appeared to have only a passing interest in the overall purpose of his financial accumulation.
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We should not be frightened by appearances.
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The more familiar two people become, the more the language they speak together departs from that of the ordinary, dictionary-defined discourse. Familiarity creates a new language, an in-house language of intimacy that carries reference to the story the two lovers are weaving together and that cannot be readily understood by others.
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To look at the paper is to raise a seashell to one's ear and to be overwhelmed by the roar of humanity.
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Alcohol-inspired fights are a reminder of the price we pay for our daily submission at the altars of prudence and order.
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Because the rhythm of conversation makes no allowance for dead periods, because the presence of others calls for continuous responses, we are left to regret the inanity of what we say, and the missed opportunity of what we do not.
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In a secularising world, art has replaced religion as a touchstone of our reverence and devotion.
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Much of the really serious trouble in the world gets going with a sense of humiliation.
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The difference between hope and despair is a different way of telling stories from the same facts.
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A notorious inability to express emotions makes human beings the only animals capable of suicide.
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In the works of Lucretius, we find two reasons why we shouldn't worry about death. If you have had a successful life, Lucretius tell us, there's no reason to mind its end. And, if you haven't had a good time, Why do you seek to add more years, which would also pass but ill?
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You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets and uneventful nice days.
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Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? Everyone loves strength, but do you love me for my weakness? That is the real test.
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True love is a lack of desire to check one's smartphone in another's presence.
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