Jose Marti Quotes

The force of passion is balanced by the force of interest.

Only those who hate the Negro see hatred in the Negro.

We are free, but no to be evil

In a time of crisis, the peoples of the world must rush to get to know each other.

The wretch who lives without freedom feels like dressing in the mud from the streets Those who have you, o Liberty, do not know. you. Those who do not have you should not speak of you, but win you.

A grain of poetry suffices to season a century.

Men of action, above all those whose actions are guided by love, live forever.

Other famous men, those of much talk and few deeds, soon evaporate. Action is the dignity of greatness.

It is my duty to prevent, through the independence of Cuba, the U.S.A. from spreading over the West Indies and falling with addedweight upon other lands of Our America. All I have done up to now and shall do hereafter is to that end.... I know the Monster, because I have lived in its lair--and my weapon is only the slingshot of David.

It is terrible to speak of you, Liberty, for one who lives without you.

The brave forget. It is those who fought less bravely, or those who fought without justice and live in fear of their victory, who forget the least.

Amor cuerdo, no es amor. (Sane love, is not love)

No fruit on earth can rival the cemetery's crop

The only way to be totally free is through education.

There is happiness in duty, although it may not seem so.

The vote is a trust more delicate than any other, for it involves not just the interests of the voter, but his life, honor and future as well.

Men are products, expressions, reflections; they live to the extent that they coincide with their epoch, or to the extent that they differ markedly from it.

To educate is to give man the keys to the world, which are independence and love, and to give him strength to journey on his own, light of step, a spontaneous and free being.

Treacherous assassins, enemies of the people, and worthy of everyone's ridicule are those who, under the pretext of guiding future generations, teach them an isolated system of doctrines and whisper in their ear (instead of the sweet message of love) the barbarous gospel of hate.

Only those who spread treachery, fire, and death out of hatred for the prosperity of others are undeserving of pity.

It is necessary to make virtue fashionable.

Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity.

Literature is the most beautiful of countries

To beautify life is to give it an object.

Peoples are made of hate and of love, and more of hate than love.

A selfish man is a thief.

Talent is a gift that brings with it an obligation to serve the world, and not ourselves, for it is not of our making.

The dagger plunged in the name of freedom is plunged into the breast of freedom.

Books console us, calm us, prepare us, enrich us and redeem us.

Habit creates the appearance of justice; progress has no greater enemy than habit.

The struggles waged by nations are weak only when they lack support in the hearts of their women.

This is the age in which hills can look down upon the mountains.

Let those who desire a secure homeland conquer it. Let those who do not conquer it live under the whip and in exile, watched over like wild animals, cast from one country to another, concealing the death of their souls with a beggar's smile from the scorn of free men.

If I survive, I will spend my whole life at the oven door seeing that no one is denied bread and, so as to give a lesson of charity, especially those who did not bring flour.

Rights are to be taken, not requested; seized, not begged for.

Like bones to the human body, the axle to the wheel, the wing to the bird, and the air to the wing, so is liberty the essence of life. Whatever is done without it is imperfect.

But love, like the sun that it is, sets afire and melts everything. what greed and privilege to build up over whole centuries the indignation of a pious spirit, with its natural following of oppressed souls, will cast down with a single shove.

Socialist ideology, like so many others, has two main dangers. One stems from confused and incomplete readings of foreign texts, and the other from the arrogance and hidden rage of those who, in order to climb up in the world, pretend to be frantic defenders of the helpless so as to have shoulders on which to stand.

To busy oneself with what is futile when one can do something useful, to attend to what is simple when one has the mettle to attempt what is difficult, is to strip talent of its dignity.

Like stones rolling down hills, fair ideas reach their objectives despite all obstacles and barriers. It may be possible to speed or hinder them, but impossible to stop them.

He who receives money in trust to administer for the benefit of its owner, and uses it either for his own interest or against the wishes of its rightful owner, is a thief.

Mountains culminate in peaks, and nations in men.

Men have no special right because they belong to one race or another: the word man defines all rights.

In this world, there must be a certain degree of honor just as there must be a certain amount of light. When there are many men without honor, there will always be some others who bear in themselves the honor of many men.

A poem is something sacred. Let no one Take it for anything except itself.

Just as he who gives his life to serve a great idea is admirable, he who avails himself of a great idea to serve his personal hopes of glory and power is abominable, even if he too risks his life.

Charm is a product of the unexpected.

Freedoms, like privileges, prevail or are imperiled together You cannot harm or strive to achieve one without harming or furthering all.