Alexandra David-Néel Quotes

13 Sourced Quotes

Suffering raises up those souls that are truly great; it is only small souls that are made mean-spirited by it.

Alexandra David-Néel
As a stoic I must despise injury or, rather, I must not feel it, must not be affected by it so that it cannot violate the freedom of my soul.

Alexandra David-Néel
Very few of us are capable of being Free Thinkers, needing neither to adore nor to insult God, the insult often being an act of faith more profound than adoration.

Alexandra David-Néel
Neglecting small things because one wishes to do great things is the excuse of the faint-hearted.

Alexandra David-Néel
'Intellectual' is not always a synonym for 'intelligent.'

Alexandra David-Néel
Nature has a language of its own, or maybe those who have lived long in solitude read in it their own unconscious inner feelings and mysterious foreknowledge.

Alexandra David-Néel
Guard against idols — yes, guard against all idols, of which surely the greatest is oneself.

Alexandra David-Néel
The wise expect nothing, hope for nothing, thus avoiding all disappointment and anxiety.

Alexandra David-Néel
Landscapes have a language of their own, expressing the soul of the things, lofty or humble, which constitute them, from the mighty peaks to the smallest of the tiny flowers hidden in the meadow's grass.

Alexandra David-Néel
One must be very strong, or very stupid, or completely exhausted to face life with indifference.

Alexandra David-Néel
Work cannot convey the almost voluptuous sweetness of the feelings experienced... in solitude.

Alexandra David-Néel
The unsuspected is the daily fare of the traveler in Thibet.

Alexandra David-Néel
There is nothing truly serious in life. All words sound hollow when one listens to them carefully.

Alexandra David-Néel