16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain – 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy
Some quotes from his books:
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
The truth is cruel, but it can be loved, and it makes free those who have loved it.
To the mind of the ancients, who knew something of such matters, liberty and prosperity seemed hardly compatible, yet modern liberalism wants them together.
Beauty as we feel it is something indescribable: what it is or what it means can never be said.
Our dignity is not in what we do, but in what we understand.
Professional philosophers are usually only apologists: that is, they are absorbed in defending some vested illusion or some eloquent idea. Like lawyers or detectives, they study the case for which they are retained.
I like to walk about amidst the beautiful things that adorn the world; but private wealth I should decline, or any sort of personal possessions, because they would take away my liberty.
Only the dead have seen the end of war.
No system would have ever been framed if people had been simply interested in knowing what is true, whatever it may be. What produces systems is the interest in maintaining against all comers that some favourite or inherited idea of ours is sufficient and right.
Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer: there is nobility in preserving it coolly and proudly through long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness.