Paul Janet Quotes: Sources, Meanings & Themes
Browse quotations by Paul Janet with named works, context notes, meanings and recurring themes.
Source identified1
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“Remember that thou art a man and do not degrade thyself: this is self-respect.”
Meaning & context
Janet treats human dignity as a floor below which humility should not push a person: recognizing weakness does not require degrading oneself or surrendering self-respect.
Source details
Elements of Morals, Chapter XIV, section 165, printed page 296, Caroline Rollin Corson’s 1884 English translation, Project Gutenberg #37016. “Remember that thou art a man and do not degrade thyself: this is self-respect” appears in the same paragraph as Janet’s paired reminder against vain pride, making self-respect and humility complementary parts of his moral argument rather than generic affirmation copy.
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“Humility should not be an abasement; for it is never a virtue in man to lower himself.”
Meaning & context
Janet sharply separates humility from self-degradation: accurate awareness of human weakness should coexist with dignity, so humility does not require pretending that one has no worth or abilities.
Source details
Elements of Morals, Chapter XIV, section 165, printed page 296, Caroline Rollin Corson’s 1884 English translation, Project Gutenberg #37016. Janet distinguishes humility from abasement: humility arises from recognition of human weakness, but lowering oneself is not itself a virtue. The passage belongs to nineteenth-century systematic moral philosophy rather than modern clinical self-esteem guidance.
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“If the principle of final causes were a first principle, and a priori, like the principle of causality, we would apply it everywhere and in all circumstances; but it is not so.”
Meaning & context
Janet begins by denying that teleological explanation functions as an automatic first principle, making its use something that must itself be examined and justified.
Source details
Final Causes, Book I, Chapter I, “The Principle,” opening sentence, William Affleck translation (1878). The represented public-domain scan prints the sentence on p. 17 after Robert Flint’s prefatory matter. Janet begins by denying that finality functions as an automatic a priori principle like causality; this remains nineteenth-century philosophical teleology rather than current scientific consensus.
