Roger Scruton Quotes

There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.

Nothing is important... so everything is important.

There is nothing useless to men of sense.

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.

All vital truth contains the memory of all that for which it is not true.

The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.

When Reason died, then Wisdom was born.

What is simple is false and what is not is useless.

I smil'd to my self at the sight of this money, O drug! said I aloud, what art thou good for? Thou art not worth to me, no not the taking off of the ground, one of those knives is worth all this heap, I have no manner of use for thee, e'en remain where thou art, and go to the bottom as a creature whose life is not worth saving. However, upon second thoughts, I took it away.

A paradox is only a truth standing on its head to attract attention.

The truest sayings are paradoxical.

The Truth lies not in the Yes and not in the No, but in the knowledge and the beginning from which the Yes and the No arise.

A master sees the bad in the good, and the good in the bad.

All wisdom ends in paradox.

Thus it is that "Some things are increased by being diminished, others are diminished by being increased." What others have taught, I also teach; verily, I will make it the root of my teaching.

To use is necessary. And if you can't be used, then you're useless.

There is nothing useless in nature; not even uselessness itself

For there is assuredly nothing dearer to a man than wisdom, and though age takes away all else, it undoubtedly brings us that.

The jester is brother to the sage.

Even if I am but a pretender to wisdom, that in itself is philosophy.

Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?

That's a stupid question,' said Malachi. 'Because he didn't warn him. He didn't warn anyone.' 'No, it's a philosophical question,' Kearns corrected him. 'Which makes it useless, not stupid.

Wisedome hath one foot on Land, and another on Sea.

The further one advances in experience, the closer one comes to the unfathomable; the more one learns to utilize experience, the more one recognizes that the unfathomable is of no practical value.