Quotes from Nicolás Gómez Dávila

Equality of opportunity" does not mean the possibility for all to be decent, but the right of all not to be decent.

Das widerlichste und groteskeste der Schauspiele ist das der Überlegenheit des lebenden Professors über das tote Genie.

Perception of reality, today, dies crushed between modern work and modern entertainment.

De goede smaak die is aangeleerd is erger dan de slechte smaak die men van nature heeft.

Discipline is not so much a social necessity as an aesthetic obligation.

Sowohl die heidnische wie auch die romantische Liebe ist unschuldig; lasterhaft ist nur die satte und hygienische Sexulaität zwischen Gleichen.

Het gevaarlijke idee is niet het valse, maar het gedeeltelijk juiste.

Precision in philosophy is a false elegance. On the other hand, literary precision is the foundation of aesthetic achievement.

De statistiek is het werktuig van wie afziet van het begrijpen om te kunnen manipuleren.

Reactionary thought has been accused of irrationalism because it refuses to sacrifice the canons of reason to the prejudices of the day. The root of reactionary thought is not distrust of reason but distrust of the will.

Jongeren zijn niet per se revolutionair, maar noodzakelijk dogmatisch.

Man no longer knows how to invent anything that does not serve to kill better or to make the world a little more vulgar.

Modern man's misfortune lies not in having to live a mediocre life, but in believing that he could live a life that is not mediocre.

Religion did not arise out of the need to assure social solidarity, nor were cathedrals built to encourage tourism. Religion is socially effective not when it adopts socio-political solutions, but when it succeeds in having society be spontaneously influenced by purely religious attitudes

It is not easy to discern whether contemporary journalism is a cynical way to get rich by corrupting man or a "cultural" apostolate carried out by hopelessly uncivilized minds.

Probablemente en otras épocas abundaron las porquerías tanto como en la nuestra, pero en ninguna tuvieron los discursos que las justifican y alaban popularidad semejante.

The terrorist is the liberal's grandchild.

The imbecile does not discover the radical misery of our condition except when he is sick, poor, or old.

The reactionary is mistaken if he assumes that the democrat rejects his reasons but shares his repugnance. The modern world is a pigsty in whose morass modern man rolls happily.

Only those who never moved a finger to acquire them should talk about money and power.

Cambiano meno gli uomini le idee che le idee i loro travestimenti. Nel corso dei secoli dialogano le stesse voci.

The classical languages have educational value because they are safe from the vulgarity with which modern life corrupts languages in use.

Every civilization is a dialogue with death.

La burguesía, en el marco feudal, se localiza en pequeños centros urbanos donde se estructura y se civiliza. Al romperse el marco, la burguesía se expande sobre la sociedad entera, inventa el estado nacional, la técnica racionalista, la urbe multitudinaria y anónima, la sociedad industrial, la masificación del hombre y, en fin, el proceso oscilatorio entre el despotismo de la plebe y el despotismo del experto.