1001Philosophers

Gabriel Marcel Quotes

Gabriel Marcel was a French Catholic existentialist philosopher, dramatist, and music critic. Often called the first French existentialist, he distinguished his thought sharply from Sartre's atheist existentialism, preferring the term Christian neo-Socratism. The quotes below are attributed to Gabriel Marcel, organized by topic.

Gabriel Marcel on Happiness

  • Attributed to Gabriel Marcel:

    “Hope is for the soul what breath is for the body.”

Gabriel Marcel on Love

  • Attributed to Gabriel Marcel:

    “Fidelity is the active recognition of something permanent.”

  • Attributed to Gabriel Marcel:

    “I hope in thee for us.”

Gabriel Marcel on Mind

  • Attributed to Gabriel Marcel:

    “The intellect's deepest task is to safeguard the mystery.”

Gabriel Marcel on Truth

  • Attributed to Gabriel Marcel:

    “Being and having are the two fundamental categories of existence.”

  • Attributed to Gabriel Marcel:

    “A philosopher must accept the mystery of being.”