Georges Bernanos Quotes

A collection of quotes by Georges Bernanos.

Georges Bernanos (1888-1948) was a French writer known for his insightful and often controversial works. Born in Paris, he served in World War I before pursuing a career in writing. Bernanos's notable works include "The Diary of a Country Priest" and "Under the Sun of Satan," which explore themes of faith, redemption, and the struggle between good and evil. His uncompromising style and critical examination of societal norms earned him both acclaim and criticism during his lifetime. Bernanos remains a significant figure in French literature, known for his profound exploration of human nature and spirituality.

Faith is not a thing which one 'loses,' we merely cease to s

Faith is not a thing which one 'loses,' we merely cease to shape our lives by it.

Georges Bernanos


She isn't very clever or very devout,... and she certainly e

She isn't very clever or very devout,... and she certainly empties the whole salt cellar into the stories she tells me. But I love her because she never lies.

Georges Bernanos

Love

Little things seem nothing, but they give peace, like those

Little things seem nothing, but they give peace, like those meadow flowers which individually seem odorless but all together perfume the air.

Georges Bernanos

Peace

Hope is a risk that must be run.

Hope is a risk that must be run.

Georges Bernanos

Hope

The modern state no longer has anything but rights; it does

The modern state no longer has anything but rights; it does not recognize duties any more.

Georges Bernanos

Rights

God ordains that beggars should beg for greatness, as for al

God ordains that beggars should beg for greatness, as for all else, when greatness shines out of them, and they don't know it.

Georges Bernanos

Charity

I know the compassion of others is a relief at first. I don'

I know the compassion of others is a relief at first. I don't despise it. But it can't quench pain, it slips through your soul as through a sieve. And when our suffering has been dragged from one pity to another, as from one mouth to another, we can no longer respect or love it.

Georges Bernanos

Kindness

Fact is Our Lord knew all about the power of money: He gave

Fact is Our Lord knew all about the power of money: He gave capitalism a tiny niche in His scheme of things, He gave it a chance, He even provided a first installment of funds. Can you beat that? It's so magnificent. God despises nothing. After all, if the deal had come off, Judas would probably have endowed sanatoriums, hospitals, public libraries or laboratories.

Georges Bernanos

Capitalism

What a cunning mixture of sentiment, pity, tenderness, irony

What a cunning mixture of sentiment, pity, tenderness, irony surrounds adolescence, what knowing watchfulness! Young birds on their first flight are hardly so hovered around.

Georges Bernanos

Youth

It is the perpetual dread of fear, the fear of fear, that sh

It is the perpetual dread of fear, the fear of fear, that shapes the face of a brave man.

Georges Bernanos

Bravery

The world is eaten up by boredom. You can't see it all at on

The world is eaten up by boredom. You can't see it all at once. It is like dust. You go about and never notice, you breathe it in, you eat and drink it. It is sifted so fine, it doesn't even grit on your teeth. But stand still for an instant and there it is, coating your face and hands. To shake off this drizzle of ashes you must be for ever on the go. And so people are always on the go.

Georges Bernanos

Boredom

Who are you to condemn another's sin? He who condemns sin be

Who are you to condemn another's sin? He who condemns sin becomes part of it, espouses it.

Georges Bernanos

Sin

A thought which does not result in an action is nothing much

A thought which does not result in an action is nothing much, and an action which does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all.

Georges Bernanos

Thought

Faith is not a thing which one loses, we merely cease to sha

Faith is not a thing which one loses, we merely cease to shape our lives by it.

Georges Bernanos

Faith

Have you never been moved by poor men's fidelity, the image

Have you never been moved by poor men's fidelity, the image of you they form in their simple minds? Why should you always talk of their envy, without understanding that what they ask of you is not so much your worldly goods, as something very hard to define, which they themselves can put no name to; yet at times it consoles their loneliness; a dream of splendor, of magnificence, a tawdry dream, a poor man's dream --and yet God blesses it!

Georges Bernanos

Wealth

Purity is not imposed upon us as though it were a kind of pu

Purity is not imposed upon us as though it were a kind of punishment, it is one of those mysterious but obvious conditions of that supernatural knowledge of ourselves in the Divine, which we speak of as faith. Impurity does not destroy this knowledge, it slays our need for it.

Georges Bernanos

Purity

What does the truth matter? Haven't we mothers all given our

What does the truth matter? Haven't we mothers all given our sons a taste for lies, lies which from the cradle upwards lull them, reassure them, send them to sleep: lies as soft and warm as a breast!

Georges Bernanos

Deception/lying

And what have you laymen made of hell? A kind of penal servi

And what have you laymen made of hell? A kind of penal servitude for eternity, on the lines of your convict prisons on earth, to which you condemn in advance all the wretched felons your police have hunted from the beginning -- enemies of society, as you call them. You're kind enough to include the blasphemers and the profane. What proud or reasonable man could stomach such a notion of God's justice? And when you find that notion inconvenient it's easy enough for you to put it on one side. Hell is not to love any more, Madame. Not to love any more!

Georges Bernanos

Hell

A poor man with nothing in his belly needs hope, illusion, m

A poor man with nothing in his belly needs hope, illusion, more than bread.

Georges Bernanos

Poverty

The wish to pray is a prayer in itself. God can ask no more

The wish to pray is a prayer in itself. God can ask no more than that of us.

Georges Bernanos

Prayer