The author may not interpret. But he must tell why and how he wrote his book. Umberto Eco More Quotes by Umberto Eco More Quotes From Umberto Eco I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. Indeed, the Macintosh is counterreformist and has been influenced by the methodical path of the Jesuits.... It is catechistic: the essence of revelation is dealt with via simple formulae and sumptuous icons. Everyone has a right to salvation. DOS is Protestant, or even Calvinistic. It allows free interpretation of scripture, demands difficult personal decisions, imposes a subtle hermeneutics upon the user, and takes for granted the idea that all can reach salvation. Umberto Eco icons essence simple ...we can only add to the world, where we believe it ends, more parts similar to those we already know (an expanse made again and always of water and land, stars and skies). Umberto Eco stars sky believe A book is a fragile creature. It suffers the wear of time, it fears rodents, the elements, clumsy hands. Umberto Eco suffering book hands Socrates ... did not write. It seems academically obvious that he perished because he did not publish! Umberto Eco publish obvious writing When one starts writing a book, especially a novel, even the humblest person in the world hopes to become Homer. Umberto Eco writing book world Living the same sorrows three times was a suffering, but it was a suffering to relive even the same joys. The joy of life is born from feeling, whether it be joy or grief, always of short duration, and woe to those who know they will enjoy eternal bliss. Umberto Eco grief feelings joy And when someone suggests you believe in a proposition, you must first examine it to see whether it is acceptable, because our reason was created by God, and whatever pleases our reason can but please divine reason, of which, for that matter, we know only what we infer from the processes of our own reason by analogy and often by negation. Umberto Eco analogies matter believe Not that the incredulous person doesn't believe in anything. It's just that he doesn't believe in everything. Umberto Eco persons believe The good of a book lies in its being read. Umberto Eco semiotics book lying Books are menaced by books. Any excess of information produces silence. Umberto Eco excess silence book He who laughs does not believe in what he laughs at, but neither does he hate it. Therefore, laughing at evil means not preparing oneself to combat it, and laughing at good means denying the power through which good is self-propagating. Umberto Eco hate mean believe A sure sign of a lunatic is that sooner or later, he brings up the Templars. Umberto Eco templars lunatic sooner-or-later You tell me these two were my parents, so now I know but it's a memory that you've given me. I'll remember the photo from now on, but not them. Umberto Eco parent memories two The photograph [of Che Guevara], for a civilization now accustomed to thinking in images, was not the description of a single event... it was an argument. Umberto Eco events civilization thinking If photography is to be likened to perception, this is not because the former is a natural process but because the latter is also coded. Umberto Eco perception photography natural We know that sensory phenomena are transcribed in the photographic emulsion in such a way that even if there is a causal link with the real phenomena, the graphic images can be considered as wholly arbitrary with respect to these phenomena. Umberto Eco arbitrary real links The west has decided to channel money and effort into studying other customs and practices, but no one has really given other people the chance to study western customs and practices, except at schools maintained by white expatriates, or by allowing the rich from other cultures to study in Oxford or Paris. What happens then is that they return home to organise fundamentalist movements, because they feel solidarity with those of their compatriots who lack the opportunity for such education. Umberto Eco home opportunity school [I am fascinated by stupidity] because normal intelligence is boring. Two plus two makes four - finished. You have no possibilities! Stupidity is infinite. Two plus two can make billions of different numbers. Umberto Eco stupidity numbers two [In my writing] I know that I have made a caricature out of [others' academic] theories [but] I think that caricatures are frequently good portraits. Umberto Eco portraits writing thinking I wrote a novel because I had a yen to do it. I believe this is sufficient reason to set out to tell a story. Umberto Eco reason stories believe
