“Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament.” — George Santayana | V2Melody

“Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament.”

A sober reminder that living involves difficulty as well as enjoyment · Philosophical essay

George Santayana

About George Santayana

George Santayana

16 December 1863–26 September 1952

George Santayana, born Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás on 16 December 1863 in Madrid and dead in Rome on 26 September 1952, was one of the most elegant and elusive figures in American intellectual life. He was a philosopher, literary critic, poet, novelist, memoirist, teacher, and aphorist; yet no…

More by George Santayana

Poems by George Santayana

Solipsism Listen

More remarks by George Santayana

“The earth has music for those who listen.”

A reflection on the beauty available to attentive minds · Philosophical writing

“Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.”

A concise account of how conviction can become detached from purpose · Philosophical work, The Life of Reason

Truth
War

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

A warning that historical memory is essential to sound judgement · Philosophical work, The Life of Reason