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We must watch over our modesty in the presence of those who cannot understand its grounds.

Jean Rostand

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Jean Rostand
Age: 82 †
Born: 1894
Born: October 30
Died: 1977
Died: September 4
Biologist
Historian
Philosopher
Writer
Paris
France
Understand
Cannot
Must
Grounds
Modesty
Presence
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More quotes by Jean Rostand

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On tue un homme, on est un assassin. On tue des millions d'hommes, on est un conquérant. On les tue tous, on est un dieu. Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you are a god.
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The books one has written in the past have two surprises in store: one couldn't write them again, and wouldn't want to.
Jean Rostand
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When I was young I pitied the old. Now old, it is the young I pity.
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It is sometimes well for a blatant error to draw attention to overmodest truths.
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There are certain moments when we might wish the future were built by men of the past.
Jean Rostand
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Prerequisite for rereadability in books: that they be forgettable.
Jean Rostand
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Beauty in art is often nothing but ugliness subdued.
Jean Rostand
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I prefer the honest jargon of reality to the outright lies of books.
Jean Rostand
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Kill one man, and you are murderer.
Jean Rostand
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A few great minds are enough to endow humanity with monstrous power, but a few great hearts are not enough to make us worthy of using it.
Jean Rostand
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We bestow on others praise in which we do not believe, on condition that in return they bestow upon us praise in which we do.
Jean Rostand
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We find it easy to believe that praise is sincere: why should anyone lie in telling us the truth?
Jean Rostand
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Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god.
Jean Rostand
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On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.
Jean Rostand
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To be able to observe with a stranger's eye helps one to see with an artist's eye. What alienates us inspires.
Jean Rostand
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I don't judge a regime by the damning criticism of the opposition, but by the ingenuous praise of the partisan.
Jean Rostand
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One kills a man, one is an assassin one kills millions, one is a conqueror one kills everybody, one is a god.
Jean Rostand
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Certain brief sentences are peerless in their ability to give one the feeling that nothing remains to be said.
Jean Rostand
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My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of other pessimists.
Jean Rostand
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Far too often the choices reality proposes are such as to take away one's taste for choosing.
Jean Rostand