Alexis Carrel > Quotes

“Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor”
― Alexis Carrel

“To progress again, man must remake himself. And he cannot remake himself without suffering. For he is both the marble and the sculptor. In order to uncover his true visage he must shatter his own substance with heavy blows of his hammer.”
― Alexis Carrel, Man, The Unknown

“Prayer is the force as real as terrestrial gravity. As a physician, I have seen men, after all other therapy had failed, lifted out of disease and melancholy by the serene effort of prayer. Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind and spirit which gives the frail human reed its unshakable strength.”
― Alexis Carrel

“ان الأساليب التي تستخدمها الأعضاء في بناء نفسها غريبة على العقل البشري. أكوام من المادة تنبثق من خلية واحدة مفردة، كأن بيتاً بأكمله يبنى من طوبه سحرية، طوبة تقوم تلقائيا بتوليد وحدات أخرى من الطوب و تنمو الأعضاء بطريقة تذكرنا بما تفعله الجنّيات في قصص الأطفال. أن عقولنا تتوه تماما في العالم الداخلي للأعضاء”
― Alexis Carrel, الإنسان ذلك المجهول

“Happiness depends on one being exactly fitted to the nature of one's work.”
― Alexis Carrel

“All of us, at certain moments of our lives, need to take advice and to receive help from other people.”
― Alexis Carrel

“Modern civilization seems to be incapable of producing people endowed with imagination, intelligence, and courage. In practically every country there is a decrease in the intellectual and moral caliber of those who carry the responsibility of public affairs. The financial, industrial, and commercial organizations have reached a gigantic size. They are influenced not only by the conditions of the country where they are established, but also by the state of the neighboring countries and of the entire world. In all nations, economic and social conditions undergo extremely rapid changes. Nearly everywhere the existing form of government is again under discussion. The great democracies find themselves face to face with formidable problems--problems concerning their very existence and demanding an immediate solution. And we realize that, despite the immense hopes which humanity has placed in modern civilization, such a civilization has failed in developing men of sufficient intelligence and audacity to guide it along the dangerous road on which it is stumbling. Human beings have not grown so rapidly as the institutions sprung from their brains. It is chiefly the intellectual and moral deficiencies of the political leaders, and their ignorance, which endanger modern nations.”
― Alexis Carrel, L'homme cet inconnu

“Moral sense is almost completely ignored by modern society. We have, in fact, suppressed its manifestations. All are imbued with irresponsibility. Those who discern good and evil, who are industrious and provident, remain poor and are looked upon as morons. The woman who has several children, who devotes herself to their education, instead of to her own career, is considered weak-minded. If a man saves a little money for his wife and the education of his children, this money is stolen from him by enterprising financiers. Or taken by the government and distributed to those who have been reduced to want by their own improvidence and the shortsightedness of manufacturers, bankers, and economists. Artists and men of science supply the community with beauty, health, and wealth. They live and die in poverty. Robbers enjoy prosperity in peace. Gangsters are protected by politicians and respected by judges. They are the heroes whom children admire at the cinema and imitate in their games. A rich man has every right. He may discard his aging wife, abandon his old mother to penury, rob those who have entrusted their money to him, without losing the consideration of his friends. ...Ministers have rationalized religion. They have destroyed its mystical basis. But they do not succeed in attracting modern men. In their half-empty churches they vainly preach a weak morality. They are content with the part of policemen, helping in the interest of the wealthy to preserve the framework of present society. Or, like politicians, they flatter the appetites of the crowd.”
― Alexis Carrel, L'Homme, cet inconnu

“Life leaps like a geyser for those who drill through the rock of inertia.”
― Alexis Carrel

“A tissue is evidently an enduring thing. It's functional and structural conditions become modified from moment to moment. Time is really the fourth dimension of living organisms. It enters as part into the constitution of a tissue. Cell colonies, or organs, are events which progressively unfold themselves. They must be studied like history.”
― Alexis Carrel

“.....ولهذا السبب استطاع (ادلجتون) و (جان) ان يدخلا في روع قراء كتبهما عن الفلك ان الانسان تافه جداً في هذا العالم، و حقيقة الامر أن كبر أبداننا أو ضآلتها مسأله لا أهمية لها على الاطلاق، لأن الاشياء المحدودة في الانسان لا ابعاد مادية لها، و معنى وجودنا في الحياة لا يعتمد قطعاً على جرمنا.”
― Alexis Carrel, الإنسان ذلك المجهول

“ما هو مدى التقدم الحقيقي الذي نحققه حينما تنقلنا أحد الطائرات إلى أوروبا أو إلى الصين في ساعات قلائل ؟ هل من الضروري أن نزيد الإنتاج بلا توقف حتى يستطيع الإنسان أن يستهلك كميات أكثر فأكثر من أشياء لا جدوى منها ؟ ليس هناك أي ظل من الشك في أن علوم الميكانيكا والطبيعة والكيمياء عاجزة عن إعطائنا الذكاء والنظام الأخلاقي والصحة والتوازن العصبي والأمن والسلام.”
― Alexis Carrel

“فنحن نتدهور نفسيّاً وعقليّاً في ظل تلكـ البيئة وليدة ذكائنا واختراعاتنا”
― Alexis Carrel, Man the unknown

“في النهاية، نجد أن علوم المادة الخاملة قد حققت تقدماً هائلاً، بينما بقيت الكائنات الحيّة دون تطور..”
― Alexis Carrel, Man the unknown

“إلغاء البروليتاريا تدريجياً، حيث يعيش الإنسان في مجتمعات صغيرة بدلاً من المجموعات الهائلة من أجل الحفاظ على قيم لإنسانيّة داخل تلك المجموعة الصغيرة، وبدلاً من أن يكون مجرد آلة، سيصبح إنساناً”
― Alexis Carrel, Man the unknown

“[M]en cannot follow modern civilization along its present course, because they are degenerating. They have been fascinated by the beauty of the sciences of inert matter. They have not understood that their body and consciousness are subjected to natural laws, more obscure than, but as inexorable as, the laws of the sidereal world. Neither have they understood that they cannot transgress these laws without being punished. They must, therefore, learn the necessary relations of the cosmic universe, of their fellow men, and of their inner selves, and also those of their tissues and their mind. Indeed, man stands above all things. Should he degenerate, the beauty of civilization, and even the grandeur of the physical universe, would vanish. ... Humanity's attention must turn from the machines of the world of inanimate matter to the body and the soul of man, to the organic and mental processes which have created the machines and the universe of Newton and Einstein.”
― Alexis Carrel

“الآخرون هم فقط حبيبات الغبار بدون اسم. على العكس، يبقى الفرد رجلاً عندما ينتمي إلى مجموعة صغيرة، عندما يسكن مدينة أوقرية صغير’ حيث تكون أهميتهـ النسبية أكبر، عندما يأمل أن يصبح بدورهـ مواطناً مؤثراً، لقد أدى ازدراء الفردانية الى اختفائهـ الواقعي

خطأ آخر يرجع إلى الخلط بين مفاهيم الإنسان والفرد، هو المساواة الديمقراطيّة. هذهـ العقيدة تنكسر الآن تحت ضربات تجربة الأممـ. لذلكـ من غير الضروري الإصرار على زيفها. لكن نجاحها كان مدهشا. كيف يمكن للإنسانيّة أن تقبل مثل هذا الإيمان لسنوات عديدة؟ العقيدة الديمقراطيّة لا تأخذ في الاعتبار بنية جسمنا ووعينا. لا ينطبق على الحقيقة الملموسة التي هو الفرد”
― Alexis Carrel, Man the unknown

“That hour just before day comes to banish night, is a time of fear, anguish and hopelessness.”
― Alexis Carrel, A Scientist Finds God

“İnsan, tekrar yücelmesi için kendini yeni baştan inşa etmek zorundadır. Ve bu yenileşmeyi ızdırap çekmeden yapamaz. Çünkü o hem mermerdir, hem de heykeltraş. Hakiki biçimini yeniden kazanmak için, büyük çekiç darbelerini kendi maddesine indirerek kıvılcımlar çıkaracaktır.”
― Alexis Carrel, L'Homme, cet inconnu

“El tiempo físico nos es extraño,
mientras el tiempo interior es nosotros mismos.”
― Alexis Carrel

“La société moderne a commis la sérieuse faute de substituer, dès le plus bas âge, l’école à l’enseignement familial. Elle y a été obligée par la trahison des femmes. Celles-ci abandonnent leurs enfants au kindergarten pour s’occuper de leur carrière, de leurs ambitions mondaines, de leurs plaisirs sexuels, de leurs fantaisies littéraires ou artistiques, ou simplement pour jouer au bridge, aller au cinéma, perdre leur temps dans une paresse affairée. Elles ont causé ainsi l’extinction du groupe familial, où l’enfant grandissait en compagnie d’adultes et apprenait beaucoup d’eux. Les jeunes chiens élevés dans des chenils avec des animaux du même âge sont moins développés que ceux qui courent en liberté avec leurs parents. Il en est de même des enfants perdus dans la foule des autres enfants et de ceux qui vivent avec des adultes intelligents. L’enfant modèle facilement ses activités physiologiques, affectives et mentales sur celles de son milieu. Aussi reçoit-il peu des enfants de son âge. Quand il est réduit à n’être qu’une unité dans une école, il se développe mal. Pour progresser, l’individu demande la solitude relative, et l’attention du petit groupe familial.
C’est également grâce à son ignorance de l’individu que la société moderne atrophie les adultes. L’homme ne supporte pas impunément le mode d’existence et le travail uniforme et stupide imposé aux ouvriers d’usine, aux employés de bureau, à ceux qui doivent assurer la production en masse. Dans l’immensité des villes modernes, il est isolé et perdu. Il est une abstraction économique, une tête du troupeau. Il perd sa qualité d’individu. Il n’a ni responsabilité, ni dignité. Au milieu de la foule émergent les riches, les politiciens puissants, les bandits de grande envergure. Les autres ne sont qu’une poussière anonyme. Au contraire, l’individu garde sa personnalité quand il fait partie d’un groupe où il est connu, d’un village, d’une petite ville, où son importance relative est plus grande, dont il peut espérer devenir, à son tour, un citoyen influent. La méconnaissance théorique de l’individualité a amené sa disparition réelle.”
― Alexis Carrel, الإنسان ذلك المجهول

“It is not certain that the standardized habits of modern life lead to the optimum development of human beings. The present ways of living have been adopted because they are easy and pleasant. Indeed, they differ profoundly from those of our ancestors and of the human groups which have so far resisted industrial civilization. We do not know, as yet, whither they are better or worse.”
― Alexis Carrel

“Homo Economicus, tabiatın yarattığı değil liberalizmle marksizmin icat ettiği bir şeydir. Beşeri varlık sadece istihsal ve istihlâk için yaratılmamıştır. Daha tekamülünün başlangıcında, güzelliğe karşı sevgi, dine karşı hürmet göstermiş, entelektüel bir tecessüse, yaratıcı bir muhayyileye, kendisini feragate sevkeden bir duyguya sahip olduğunu ve içinde kahraman bir ruh taşıdığınıı ispat etmiştir. Binaenaleyh insanın yalnız ekonomik faaliyetini tanımak onu diğer kısımlardan tecrit etmektir. Demek ki liberalizm ve marksizm, her ikisi de tabiatın esas temayüllerine tecavüz etmektedirler.”
― Alexis Carrel

“Homo Economicus, tabiatın yarattığı değil liberalizmle marksizmin icat ettiği bir şeydir. Beşerî varlık sadece istihsal ve istihlâk için yaratılmamıştır. Daha tekâmülünün başlangıcında, güzelliğe karşı sevgi, dine karşı hürmet göstermiş, entelektüel bir tecessüse, yaratıcı bir muhayyileye, kendisini feragate sevkeden bir duyguya sahip olduğunu ve içinde kahraman bir ruh taşıdığını ispat etmiştir. Binaenaleyh insanın yalnız ekonomik faaliyetini tanımak onu diğer kısımlardan tecrit etmektir. Demek ki liberalizm ve marksizm, her ikisi de tabiatın esas temayüllerine tecavüz etmektedirler.”
― Alexis Carrel

“Bâkir ormanlarda birbirlerini parçalayan vahşi hayvanlar gibi insanlar da kendilerini korumak için mütemadiyen mücadele ederler. Medeni insanları hammadde temin eden yerleri ve dünya pazarlarını ele geçirmeye sevkeden şey, kaplanı açlığını giderecek avın üzerine saldırmaya sevkeden şeyin aynıdır.”
― Alexis Carrel, Uyanin Insanlar

“Doğan güneşin ışıkları altında görünen karlı dağlarda nasıl bir güzellik varsa, bir kahramanın yaptığı fedakârlıkta da aynı derecede cazip bir güzellik vardır. Tanrının inayetine mazhar olanın çehresinde beliren ışık, doğan güneşin ışığı kadar hakikidir.”
― Alexis Carrel

“Tabiat kanunları dilsizdir. Mübah olanla yasaklar arasındaki sınır da bildiğimiz gibi, gözle görülmez. Uçsuz bucaksız kırlarda keyfimizin istediği gibi başıboş dolaşacak yerde, yoldan ayrılmamalıyız. Hatta bu yol dar, çetin ve arızalı bile olsa. Demek ki tabiat kanunlarına itaat, hürriyeti kendi elimizle tahdit etmeyi icap ettirir. Deruni bir disiplin olmazsa hayatta muvafakkiyet imkansızdır.”
― Alexis Carrel

“Beşeri hürriyet ile tabiat kanunlarının icap ettirdiği şeyler arasındaki zıddiyet, nefse tahakkümü lüzumlu kılar. Kendimizi yahut torunlarımızı felaketlerden korumak için birçok ani isteklerimize, zevklerimize ve arzularımıza karşı koymak zorundayız. Fedakarlık etmeden kainatta mevcut nizama uymak imkansızdır. Feragat bir hayat kanunudur. Bir çocuk dünyaya getirmek bir kadın için, birçok fedakarlıklara katlanmak demektir. Atlet, artist yahut alim olmak için sert bir disipline katlanmak lazımdır. Sıhhat, kuvvet, uzun ömür ancak bir takım iştihalara karşı koymakla elde edilir. Feragatsiz ulviyet, güzellik ve kudsiyet olmaz. Birçok kimseler vazifelerini yapabilmek için konfora, eğlenceye, servete, hatta hayata veda etmek zorunda kalmışlardır. İçinde bulunduğumuz devir feragatle başlamıştır; fakat feragat sadece kahramanlara ve evliyalara has bir meziyet değildir. Herkes feragat göstermelidir. Zira feragat beşeri hayatın bir zaruretidir. Bu zaruret, atalarımızda insiyaki otomatizmin yerini hürriyet aldığı vakit belirmiştir. İnsan her ne zaman bütün hürriyetini kullandı ise, tabiî kanunlara karşı gelmiş ve şiddetle ceza görmüştür. Hayatta muvaffakiyet feragatla kaimdir. İnsan ancak hürriyetinin bir kısmını feda ederek kainatta mevcut nizama ulaşabilir.”
― Alexis Carrel

“Les lois des relations humaines nous sont encore inconnues. La sociologie et l'économie politique ne sont que des sciences conjecturales, des pseudo-sciences.”
― Alexis Carrel, L'Homme, cet inconnu

“Uma tentativa infeliz vale mais do que a ausência de tentaiva”
― Alexis Carrel