Top quotes by Jose Bergamin

Pride in a man is confused with dignity; in a woman, with self-love. Votes: 16

Effort and result are never simultaneous. In art, only the result counts. Votes: 14

To light one candle to God and another to the Devil is the principle of wisdom. Votes: 13

To be thirsty and to drink water is the perfection of sensuality rarely achieved. Sometimes you drink water; other times you are thirsty. Votes: 12

In French literature, you can choose a la carte; in Spanish literature, there is only the set meal. Votes: 10

Even if you're not going anywhere, don't get in the way. Votes: 9

Sensuality without love is a sin; love without sensuality is worse than a sin. Votes: 8

True solidarity is only possible among the solitary. Votes: 8

The man who gets drunk in peacetime is a coward. The man who gets drunk in wartime goes on being a coward. Votes: 7

There are no good or bad habits. All habits are, by definition, bad. Votes: 7

Better than succeeding little by little is failing at one go. Votes: 7

When there is nothing to fear is the time to begin fearing everything. Votes: 6

Happiness is always a coincidence. Votes: 6

A piece of advice always contains an implicit threat, just as a threat always contains an implicit piece of advice. Votes: 6

The quality of a man's mind can generally be judged by the size of his wastepaper basket. Votes: 5

A woman who does not become the slave of just one man becomes the slave of all men. Votes: 5

The thirst for adventure is the vent which Destiny offers; a war, a crusade, a gold mine, a new country, speak to the imagination and offer... Votes: 5

True art tries not to attract attention in order to be noticed. Votes: 4

When you are listening to music it is better to cover your eyes than your ears. Votes: 4

To be ready to fail is to be prepared for success. Votes: 4

Erik Satie does not say the opposite of Debussy; he says the same thing only the other way round. Votes: 4

The novel is born of disillusionment; the poem, of despair. Votes: 4

The most original sin is not the thinker's but the poet's. Votes: 4

A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition. -Jose Bergamin, author (1895-1983) Votes: 4

To sin offers repentance and forgiveness; not to sin offers only punishment. Votes: 3

A reformer knows neither how to do nor to undo. Votes: 3

The first condition for making music is not to make a noise. Votes: 2

Who learns most from a good book is the author. Votes: 2

Do we have to talk in order to agree or agree in order to talk? Votes: 2

To sin offers repentance and forgiveness; not to sin offers only punishment." Votes: 1

The barometer that shows "variable" is an ironic indictment of God. Votes: 0

An ignorance of Marx is as frequent among Marxists as an ignorance of Christ is among Catholics. Votes: 0

We say of an animal that it is intelligent, and we say the same thing of a woman; but in neither case is it usually appropriate, clearly for very different reasons. Votes: 0

Man is a question; woman is an answer. The mistake women make today is to offer themselves as answers before being questioned. Votes: 0

Only one thing has to matter for everything to matter. Votes: 0

Perhaps it's more merciful to forget the dead instead of remembering them. Votes: 0

A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition. Votes: 0

It may be impossible to have a revolution without crimes but that does not make revolution a crime. Votes: 0

There are those who dance to the rhythm that is played to them, those who only dance to their own rhythm, and those who don't dance at all. Votes: 0

Tradition simply means that we need to end what began well and continue what is worth continuing Votes: 0

A rocket is an experiment; a star is an observation. Votes: 0

Skepticism is provisional, even if it lasts a lifetime. Votes: 0

A rocket is a reed that thinks brilliantly. Votes: 0

Ignorance is learned; innocence is forgotten. Votes: 0

Drinking spirits cannot cause spiritual damage. Votes: 0

Art is good but it isn't the best. Votes: 0

When I listen to the engine of my car, I might say it sounds fine, but it would not occur to me to say "What lovely music! Votes: 0

When the English have scored a goal, they think nothing more remains to be done. Votes: 0

What is reasoned has nothing to do with what is reasonable. Votes: 0

Those who are scandalized by a naked body--thinks the Devil--are easy prey: they are already doomed. Votes: 0

All true tradition usually appears revolutionary. Votes: 0

To be young is to live in the hope of escaping youth; to be old, in the despair of having succeeded. Votes: 0

You need to have a God, a lover, and an enemy, says the poet. Exactly: you need to have three enemies. Votes: 0

In love, it is the weak who strike and the strong who caress. Votes: 0

Try not to turn your life into a race, least of all an obstacle race. Votes: 0

I fear only that which I love, says man, according to Montaigne. Woman replies: I love only that which I fear. Votes: 0

Morality measured in centimeters: all mothers believe that only their daughters dance decently. Votes: 0

If you really believe music is dangerous, you should let it go in one ear and out the other. Votes: 0

You can say the opposite of something you've said but you can't do the opposite of something you've done. Votes: 0

A German immersed in any civilization different from his own loses a weight equivalent in volume to the amount of intelligence he displaces. Votes: 0

Theology is the logic of the Devil. Votes: 0

The only time a man thinks is when he's alone. Votes: 0

The man who spends all his time looking up to heaven is not always the best; in fact, he is usually the worst. Votes: 0

Life is a dangerous adventure, says the American, and he is half right: life is dangerous, but it's not an adventure. Votes: 0

You can hesitate before deciding, but not once the decision is made. Votes: 0