The wise man contents himself with what he has, until such time as he invents something better. Jose Saramago More Quotes by Jose Saramago More Quotes From Jose Saramago ...this is the way fate usually treats us, it's right there behind us, it has already reached out a hand to touch us on the shoulder while we're still muttering to ourselves, It's all over, that's it, who cares anyhow. Jose Saramago who-caresfatehands If we cannot live entirely like human beings, at least let us do everything in our power not to live entirely like animals. Jose Saramago humansifsanimal The difficult thing isn't living with other people, it's understanding them. Jose Saramago difficultunderstandingpeople Every thing in life is a uniform; the only time our bodies are truly in civilian dress is when we're naked. Jose Saramago nakedthings-in-lifedresses ...we confidently say that it's not worth trying to reach any conclusions merely because we decide to stop halfway along the path that would lead us straight to them. Jose Saramago pathfeartrying Yet human experience and the practice of communication have shown throughout the ages that definitions are an illusion, like having a speech defect and trying to say love but unable to get the word out, or, better, having a tongue in one's head but unable to feel love. Jose Saramago communicationpracticelove I was a good pupil at primary school: in the second class I was writing with no spelling mistakes, and the third and fourth classes were done in a single year. Jose Saramago mistakewritingschool . . . if there is a way for the world to be transformed for the better, it can only be done by pessimism; optimists will never change the world for the better. Jose Saramago donewayworld all stories are like those about the creation of the universe, no one was there, no one witnessed anything, yet everyone knows what happened. Jose Saramago creation-of-the-universehappenedstories Somewhere in the infinite that He occupies, God advances and withdraws the pawns of the other games He plays, but it is too soon to worry about this one, all He need do for the present is allow things to take their natural course, apart from the occasional adjustment with the tip of His little finger to make sure some stray thought or action does not interfere with the harmony of destinies. Jose Saramago destinygamesplay Being fired was the best luck of my life. It made me stop and reflect. It was the birth of my life as a writer. Jose Saramago birthluckmade Death has no need to be cruel, taking people's lives is more than enough. Jose Saramago life-ispeopleneeds This is the effect of panic, a natural effect, you could say that animal nature is like this, plant life would behave in exactly the same way, too, if it did not have all those roots to hold it in the ground, and how nice it would be to see the trees of the forest fleeing the flames. Jose Saramago flamesniceanimal In the end we discover the only condition for living is to die. Jose Saramago conditionsdiesends We live in a very peculiar world. Democracy isn't discussed, as if it was taken for granted, as if democracy had taken God's place, who is also not discussed. Jose Saramago democracypeculiartaken As so often happens, the thing left undone tires you most of all, you only feel rested when it has been accomplished. Jose Saramago undoneaccomplishedtire If I could repeat my childhood, I would repeat it exactly as it was, with the poverty, the cold, little food, with the flies and pigs, all that. Jose Saramago childhoodlittlespigs There are those who deny me the right to speak of God, because I am not a believer. And I say that I have every right in the world. I want to talk about God because it is a problem that affects all humanity. Jose Saramago humanitywantworld Perfect moments, especially when they verge on the sublime have the grave disadvantage of being very short lived, which in fact, being obvious, we would not need to mention were it not that they have a still greater disadvantage, which is that we do not know what to do once they are over. Jose Saramago sublimeperfectneeds I don't think it is worth explaining how a character's nose or chin looks. It is my feeling that readers will prefer to construct, little by little, their own characterthe author will do well to entrust the reader with this part of the work. Jose Saramago feelingscharacterthinking
