Pascal Bruckner Quotes

“An overblown conscience is an empty conscience.”

“Frustration is a bad experience. What you have to stress is the satisfaction.”

“Multiculturalism is the racism of anti-racists.”

“Today, luxury resides in everything that is becoming rare: communion with nature, silence, meditation, slowness rediscovered, the pleasure of living out of step with others, studious idleness, the enjoyment of the major works of the mind - these are all privileges that cannot be bought because they are literally priceless.”

“Ultimately, 'how's it going?' is the most futile and the most profound of questions. To answer it precisely, one would have to make a scrupulous inventory of one's psyche, considering each aspect in detail. No matter: we have to say 'fine' out of politeness and civility and change the subject, or else ruminate the question during our whole lives and reserve our reply for afterward.”

“We are not going to confine women to the home, cover their heads, lengthen their skirts, or beat up gay people, prohibit alcohol, censure film, theater, and literature, and codify tolerance in order to respect the overly sensitive whims of a few sanctimonious persons.”

“We should distinguish between responsibility and guilt. Guilt only touches the ones who committed the crimes but the son of a criminal is not a criminal himself.”

“Whatever the flows of our modern times are the idea is that you can create something new out of nothing.”

“You are not doomed to reproduce what your ancestors have done. The son will not be like his father, the daughter will not be like her mother. She can invent something new. I think that is the best message of modernity.”

“You construct your happiness as you construct a house and you have to work on it. It is a daily job.”

“You don't have to give people fish everyday but instead you must give them the pole to learn how to fish themselves.”

“You're happy when you leave your concerns to the side and when you experience a pure moment of joy with friends.”