Quotes from Nicolás Gómez Dávila

By fusing Neoplatonism and Zoroastrianism, by identifying evil with matter, the Gnostic automatically divinizes the spirit.

When one is confronted by diverse "cultures," there are two symmetrically erroneous attitudes: to admit only one cultural standard, and to grant all standards the same rank. Neither the overweening imperialism of the European historian of yesterday, nor the shameful relativism of the European historian of today.

Photography shows us how the imbecile views the world.

In a perfect penal code, vulgarity would be punished with the death penalty.

When they die, aristocracies explode; democracies deflate.

Eroticism and Gnosticism are the individual's recourse against the anonymity of mass society.

Apologetics should mix skepticism and poetry. Skepticism to strangle idols, poetry to seduce souls.

La filosofía honesta no pretender explicar sino circunscribir el misterio».

The psychiatrist considers only vulgar behavior sane.

Everything rolls toward death, but only what lacks value rolls toward nothingness.

Die Zeit ist weniger zu fürchten, weil sie tötet, als weil sie demaskiert.

Humanizing humanity again will not be an easy task after this long orgy of divinity.

Optimisim is a fairly modern invention. — Classical literature lacks this vulgar sentiment.

Humanity is the only totally false god.

Let us be careful not to call accepting what degrades us without any resistance "accepting life".

Gnosticism and Christianity start from the same point, but go in different directions. From the same definition of the human condition, Christianity infers that man is a creature, while the Gnostic infers he is a god.

Democratic massacres belong to the logic of the system. Ancient massacres to the illogicality of man.

To philosophize is to guess, without ever being able to know whether we are right.

The two most pressing problems of the contemporary world: demographic expansion and genetic deterioration are unsolvable. Liberal principles prevent the solution of the first, egalitarian ones that of the second.

Relativism is the solution of one who is incapable of putting things in order. Truths do not contradict each other except when they fall out of order.

By embracing the "modern mentality," Christianity became a doctrine which it is not easy to respect, nor interesting to do so.

The ability to consume pornography is the distinctive characteristic of the imbecile.

Good taste that has been learned ends up being of worse taste than spontaneous bad taste.

Philosophy is the art of lucidly formulating problems. Inventing solutions is not an occupation of serious intellects.