The philosopher Alain in English
An introduction to Alain's propos
This is an introduction to Alain’s propos, 50 of which are translated here, most of them for the first time in English.
What is a propos ? The French word is both plain and ambiguous: a suggestion, a comment, a proposition, remarks, notes? Perhaps ‘proposal’ comes closest as a translation. With Alain we can be more specific. It’s a short column, drafted on two pages of letter paper, and, at the beginning, published in a local newspaper. From 1906 he wrote them daily and only ceased with the outbreak of war in 1914; he began again in 1921 and continued to 1936, to make a total of around five thousand. At first they were mainly political commentary, but Alain’s philosophy and very wide interests soon entered in. The brevity of the form brought out a vivid, pithy and forceful style, free of jargon, that soon attracted readers and would lead to republication as several books. They are short essays with the freshness of improvisation. As Alain put it, he found that he had a taste for firing arrows at passers-by to get them to look up from their path in life – provocations in short. And, as he wrote later, by not thinking that philosophy was too good for journalism, he invented a genre of journalism – to which I would add: he also invented a genre of philosophy. (MP)
Fate
We don’t know how to begin anything, I mean even when stretching out one’s arm; no one begins by giving an order to the nerves
Stormy weather
In this showery weather, the moods of men and women are as changeable as the sky. An educated and quite sensible friend of mine said
Feeling immortal
When we all think we are immortal, that’s unavoidable, because our own death is to us completely inconceivable. When I think about my own death
A duty to be happy
It’s not difficult to be unhappy or dissatisfied ; it’s enough to sit down, like a prince waiting to be entertained ; there’s a look that eyes
Predictions
I know someone who showed the lines of his hand to a fortune teller to learn his future; he didn’t do it seriously, he told
Self-government
Plato has said some marvellous things on self-government, showing that this interior government should be aristocratic, that is to say, ruled by what is better
Games of chances
It’s quite natural that anyone who enters a casino becomes a little mad. All games of chance cause a pleasant madness, which takes us back
Loving what exists
Some things we have to accept without understanding; in this sense, no one lives without religion. The universe is a fact; reason has to bow
Make a vow
Pessimism comes from mood; optimism from willpower. Anyone who lets themselves go is sad, which is too mild a term, and soon irritated and angry.
Against racism
I don’t like to think about the problem of races. This way of thinking is rather insulting. Like deciding whether someone is intelligent or not,
Friendship
There are marvellous joys in friendship. This is easily understood if we notice that joy is contagious. If my presence gives joy to a friend,
To think is to say no
To think is to say no. Notice that the sign for yes is that of falling asleep; while waking up shakes the head and says
The taste of strawberries
A child kills himself – that’s something painful and almost unbearable to imagine. Let’s try to think about it clearly and find some order within
Intelligence
Thinking is not believing. Few people understand this. Nearly everyone, even those who seem to have discarded religion completely, look to the sciences for something
Drunkenness
There is depth in a drunkard; it’s like a total refusal and abdication of what it is to be a human being. To drink steadily
Paradise, purgatory, hell
What are you looking for in the cemetery? There’s nothing there but old clothes and old boxes. The dead are elsewhere; some in paradise, some
Friendship
There are marvellous joys in friendship. This is easily understood if we notice that joy is contagious. If my presence gives joy to a friend,
Make a vow
Pessimism comes from mood; optimism from willpower. Anyone who lets themselves go is sad, which is too mild a term, and soon irritated and angry.
Fate
We don’t know how to begin anything, I mean even when stretching out one’s arm; no one begins by giving an order to the nerves
Games of chances
It’s quite natural that anyone who enters a casino becomes a little mad. All games of chance cause a pleasant madness, which takes us back
Against racism
I don’t like to think about the problem of races. This way of thinking is rather insulting. Like deciding whether someone is intelligent or not,
Loving what exists
Some things we have to accept without understanding; in this sense, no one lives without religion. The universe is a fact; reason has to bow
Self-government
Plato has said some marvellous things on self-government, showing that this interior government should be aristocratic, that is to say, ruled by what is better
Predictions
I know someone who showed the lines of his hand to a fortune teller to learn his future; he didn’t do it seriously, he told
Stormy weather
In this showery weather, the moods of men and women are as changeable as the sky. An educated and quite sensible friend of mine said
To think is to say no
To think is to say no. Notice that the sign for yes is that of falling asleep; while waking up shakes the head and says
Drunkenness
There is depth in a drunkard; it’s like a total refusal and abdication of what it is to be a human being. To drink steadily
Intelligence
Thinking is not believing. Few people understand this. Nearly everyone, even those who seem to have discarded religion completely, look to the sciences for something
The taste of strawberries
A child kills himself – that’s something painful and almost unbearable to imagine. Let’s try to think about it clearly and find some order within
Feeling immortal
When we all think we are immortal, that’s unavoidable, because our own death is to us completely inconceivable. When I think about my own death
Paradise, purgatory, hell
What are you looking for in the cemetery? There’s nothing there but old clothes and old boxes. The dead are elsewhere; some in paradise, some
A duty to be happy
It’s not difficult to be unhappy or dissatisfied ; it’s enough to sit down, like a prince waiting to be entertained ; there’s a look that eyes
What is Democracy?
I know of a number of good minds who are attempting to define Democracy. I have often worked at it myself, without arriving at anything
Christmas in the war
I remember a Christmas in the artillery. It was the first Christmas of the war; no question yet of oranges, cigars, nor bottles of wine.
The Christmas Bell
In Homer’s time, it’s said that the gods often took on the form of a beggar in order to test human beings. We have no
To think is to say no
To think is to say no. Notice that the sign for yes is that of falling asleep; while waking up shakes the head and says
Predictions
I know someone who showed the lines of his hand to a fortune teller to learn his future; he didn’t do it seriously, he told
Feeling immortal
When we all think we are immortal, that’s unavoidable, because our own death is to us completely inconceivable. When I think about my own death
A festival of light
The end of winter is a festival of light. The sun reaches into the depths of the woods. The trunks cast blunt shadows; the stream
Experience
Our distant ancestors were no more stupid than we are. Like us, they had all their experiences to hand; like us, they were within experience;
Resistance
‘The laws are necessary relations which derive from the nature of things’. An immense formula, which I can’t get around, but bump up against as
A Christmas carol
The images of Christmas are astonishing and even, when looked at closely, subversive. The child in a crib, between the ox and the ass, with
Shakespeare as a carpenter
I think of Shakespeare in his theatre company as a carpenter in his workshop, looking through his stock of wood for a suitable piece, a
Fate
We don’t know how to begin anything, I mean even when stretching out one’s arm; no one begins by giving an order to the nerves
The dining hall smell
There is a dining hall smell, which is the same in all dining halls. Whether it is monks eating there, or trainee priests, or schoolchildren,
The Child-God
Christmas is spring for the mind; it is all promise. In June our joys will burn brightly; the middle of the year will soon tilt
A Library
When I see the announcement of a Library of General Culture, I hurry to the volumes, thinking to find beautiful texts, valuable translations, all the
Drunkenness
There is depth in a drunkard; it’s like a total refusal and abdication of what it is to be a human being. To drink steadily
The art of education
I don’t have much confidence in kindergartens and other inventions whose aim is to educate through amusement. It’s not a good method for adults. I
On the jetty at Dieppe
On the jetty at Dieppe I saw a man fishing for seagulls. He let a long line float on the green water, its hook baited.
Self-government
Plato has said some marvellous things on self-government, showing that this interior government should be aristocratic, that is to say, ruled by what is better
The cult of the dead
The cult of the dead is a fine custom; and All Souls Day falls where it should, at the moment when the visible signs make
The ship of state
The old comparison, drawn from a boat and its pilot, continues to instruct citizens on their duties and their rights. First comes the sensible remark
Obedience
I teach obedience. A difficult reader will say that’s what I’m paid for. This is true. But if our Great Men hear me on obedience,
Resistance and obedience
Resistance and obedience, these are the citizens’ two virtues. Through obedience they confirm order; through resistance they confirm liberty. And it’s quite clear that order
Candide
Snow is falling. As far as one can see there appears to be only monotonous change, but if one looks more carefully, endless variety; no
Judging for oneself
Knowing that the earth revolves around the sun doesn’t take us very far, not for happiness, not for wisdom, not for justice. A subtle man,
In the rain
Yet there’s plenty of real hardship; this doesn’t prevent people from adding to it, by a sort of indiscipline of the imagination. Every day you
Stormy weather
In this showery weather, the moods of men and women are as changeable as the sky. An educated and quite sensible friend of mine said
The king is bored
It is good to have a little difficulty in life and not follow an even path. I feel sorry for kings if all they have
Our first need
A sociologist said to me: It’s tempting to explain all social organisation by the need for food and for clothing oneself, economics dominating and explaining
The taste of strawberries
A child kills himself – that’s something painful and almost unbearable to imagine. Let’s try to think about it clearly and find some order within
The old myth of Christmas
The old myth of Christmas, through its images, tells us something great. More often than we suppose, every day perhaps, a son of the Spirit
League of the dogs
In the Committee of the League for the Rights of the Dog, there arose a great debate on human rights. « We must ask ourselves, » said
The traffic policeman
If a traffic policeman wanted to be fair, he would question everyone, letting doctors and midwives go first; this would, in fact, be the height
Make a vow
Pessimism comes from mood; optimism from willpower. Anyone who lets themselves go is sad, which is too mild a term, and soon irritated and angry.
Midnight mass
Midnight mass on the 25th of December, what does it mean? I think of it as a festival of the sun, and a kind of
Red mules
[‘Mean as a red mule’ – old French expression. (translator’s note)] Doubt is the salt of the mind; without the prick of doubt, all knowledge
Festivals
Dawn light bears no resemblance to evening light. Sometimes they have the same colours, but it’s doubtful whether a painter can show, by light alone,
Games of chances
It’s quite natural that anyone who enters a casino becomes a little mad. All games of chance cause a pleasant madness, which takes us back
The stars as models
Yesterday evening the Great Bear stretched out along the edge of the horizon. Cassiopeia lifted her lanterns in a zigzag on the far side of
The Chaffinch
“The chaffinch, a nice subject”. So said the school inspector, a gentle man who had published a book of poems in his youth. Whether it
Loving what exists
Some things we have to accept without understanding; in this sense, no one lives without religion. The universe is a fact; reason has to bow
All Saints
It’s not surprising that All Saints Eve and the Festival of the Dead, which are just a single festival in two thoughts, should be placed
The soul of a dog
One day, by mistake, Jupiter gave a human soul to a dog about to be born. At first the dog followed its dog’s instincts, which
Christmas Night
Christmas night is an invitation to overcome something, because this festival is certainly not a festival of resignation. All the lights on the evergreen tree
Against racism
I don’t like to think about the problem of races. This way of thinking is rather insulting. Like deciding whether someone is intelligent or not,
Aristotle
Action is the basis of what we enjoy, not being acted upon. Sweets give a small amount of pleasure; all we have to do is
Consolation
I had occasion to observe something recently, which is that religious faith is not much help in supporting the trials of life. I heard a
Paradise, purgatory, hell
What are you looking for in the cemetery? There’s nothing there but old clothes and old boxes. The dead are elsewhere; some in paradise, some
A duty to be happy
It’s not difficult to be unhappy or dissatisfied ; it’s enough to sit down, like a prince waiting to be entertained ; there’s a look that eyes
Intelligence
Thinking is not believing. Few people understand this. Nearly everyone, even those who seem to have discarded religion completely, look to the sciences for something
Friendship
There are marvellous joys in friendship. This is easily understood if we notice that joy is contagious. If my presence gives joy to a friend,
Articles on Alain
– PETHERAM, Michel
- Alain philosopher provocateur, an introduction to Alain
- Alain on religion
- A bibliography of Alain in English
- Why isn’t Alain better known in Anglophone countries?
– FORAY, Philippe – Alain [on education]
– LETERRE, Thierry – A philosophy « written for everyone » : From Alain to Simone Weil, [external link]
Most of the French versions of this selection of propos are taken from the two collected volumes of propos, published by Gallimard in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade.
All English translations copyright Michel Petheram, unless otherwise specified.
Michel Petheram