Paul Valéry? Apocryphal?
Dear Quote Investigator: The following appeared as an epigraph to an article I saw recently:
Serious-minded people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.
The words were attributed to the French poet and commentator Paul Valéry. I am not sure precisely what the remark means. Would you please help me to find a citation for the original statement in French?
Quote Investigator: In 1942 Paul Valéry published “Mauvaises pensées et autres” (“Bad thoughts and others”) which contained a collection of short passages about a variety of topics. The following statement was included:[1]1960, Oeuvres de Paul Valéry, Volume 2, Édition Établie at Annotée par Jean Hytier, Section: Mauvaises pensées et autres (Bad thoughts and others), Quote Page 844, Bibliothèque de la … Continue reading
Un homme sérieux a peu d’idées. Un homme à idées n’est jamais sérieux.
Here is one possible rendering into English:
Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.
QI can only guess at the meaning. Perhaps the remark suggests that serious people offer few panaceas, and people who do offer panaceas should not be taken seriously.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Continue reading Serious-Minded People Have Few Ideas. People With Many Ideas Are Never Serious
References
↑1 | 1960, Oeuvres de Paul Valéry, Volume 2, Édition Établie at Annotée par Jean Hytier, Section: Mauvaises pensées et autres (Bad thoughts and others), Quote Page 844, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Gallimard, Paris. (Verified with scans) |
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