We have a limit, a very discouraging, humiliating limit: death. That's why we like all the things that we assume have no limits and, therefore, no end. It's a way of escaping thoughts about death. We like lists because we don't want to die. Umberto Eco More Quotes by Umberto Eco More Quotes From Umberto Eco I was the type who looked at discussions of What Is Truth only with a view toward correcting the manuscript. If you were to quote "I am that I am," for example, I thought that the fundamental problem was where to put the comma, inside the quotation marks or outside. Umberto Eco quotation-marks example views But it has often happened that I have found the most seductive depictions of sin in the pages of those very men of incorruptible virtue who condemned their spell and their effects. Umberto Eco seductive pages men "You cannot believe what you are saying." "Well, no. Hardly ever. But the philosopher is like the poet. The latter composes ideal letters for an ideal nymph, only to plumb with his words the depths of passion. The philosopher tests the coldness of his gaze, to see how far he can undermine the fortress of bigotry." Umberto Eco nymphs passion believe What does culture want? To make infinity comprehensible. Umberto Eco doe want culture What we honor as prudence in our elders is simply panic in action. Umberto Eco elderly panic honor In other words, although I don't like them, we do need noble-spirited souls. Umberto Eco noble soul needs We were clever enough to turn a laundry list into poetry. Umberto Eco laundry lists clever Today I realize that many recent exercises in "deconstructive reading" read as if inspired by my parody. This is parody's mission: it must never be afraid of going too far. If its aim is true, it simply heralds what others will later produce, unblushing, with impassive and assertive gravity. Umberto Eco inspiration reading exercise The hand of God creates; it does not conceal. Umberto Eco hands-of-god doe hands The more elusive and ambiguous a symbol is, the more it gains significance and power. Umberto Eco ambiguous significance gains Beauty has never been absolute and immutable but has taken on different aspects depending on the historical period and the country Umberto Eco historical taken country Narrativity presumes a special taste for plot. And this taste for plot was always very present in the Anglo-Saxon countries and that explains their high quality of detective novels. Umberto Eco quality special country Religion has nothing to do with God. It's a fundamental attitude of human beings, who ask about the origins of life and what happens after death. For many, the answer is a personal god. In my opinion, it's religion that produces God, not the other way round. Umberto Eco origin-of-life fundamentals attitude For such is the fate of parody: it must never fear exaggerating. If it strikes home, it will only prefigure something that others will then do without a smile--and without a blush--in steadfast virile seriousness. Umberto Eco parody fate home Semiotics is a general theory of all existing languages... all forms of communication - visual, tactile, and so on... There is general semiotics, which is a philosophical approach to this field, and then there are many specific semiotics. Umberto Eco philosophical communication fields The court jester had the right to say the most outrageous things to the king. Everything was permitted during carnival, even the songs that the Roman legionnaires would sing, calling Julius Caesar "queen", alluding, in a very transparent way, to his real, or presumed, homosexual escapades. Umberto Eco queens kings song To play the trumpet, you must train your lips for a long time. When I was twelve or thirteen I was a good player, but I lost the skill and now I play very badly. I do it every day even so. The reason is that I want to return to my childhood. For me, the trumpet is evidence of the sort of young man I was. Umberto Eco skills player men Whoever reflects on four things I would be better if he were never born: that which is above, that which is below, that which is before, that which is after. Umberto Eco born four would-be This, in fact, is the power of the imagination, which, combining the memory of gold with that of the mountain, can compose the idea of a golden mountain. Umberto Eco imagination memories ideas The followers must feel besieged. Umberto Eco followers feels
