George Santayana

He was born in Madrid, Spain with the name Jorge Augustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana.

Santayana moved to Boston in 1872, and took the name George he is generally known by in the English language. He studied with William James at Harvard University, where he became a professor of Philosophy until he retired upon gaining an inheritance in 1912. He then lived for several years in Paris and in Oxford, England, before settling in Rome in 1925.

Santayna wrote some 18 volumes of philosophy, as well as poetry, a novel (The Last Puritan which was a best seller in 1935), and an autobiography.

Quotes

• "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
• "Skepticism, like chastity, should not be relinquished too readily."
• "Fun is a good thing but only when it spoils nothing better."
• "Love makes us poets and the approach of death makes us philosophers."
• "A fanatic is one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim."
• "Sanity is a madness put to good uses."