Quotes from Baltasar and Blimunda

“O homem primeiro tropeça, depois anda, depois corre, um dia voará.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“(...) que seria de nós se não sonhássemos.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Podemos fugir de tudo, não de nós próprios.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“A vida podia ser apenas estar sentado na erva, segurar um malmequer e não lhe arrancar as pétalas, por serem já sabidas as respostas, ou por serem estas de tão pouca importância que descobri-las não valeria a vida de uma flor.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“talvez as lágrimas não sejam mais do que isso, o alívio duma ofensa.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Deve-se a construção do convento de Mafra ao rei D. João V, por um voto que fez se lhe nascesse um filho, vão aqui seiscentos homens que não fizeram filho nenhum à rainha e eles é que pagam o voto, que se lixam, com perdão da anacrónica voz.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Tu és Sete-Sóis porque vês às claras, tu serás Sete-Luas porque vês às escuras, e, assim, Blimunda, que até aí só se chamava, como sua mãe, de Jesus, ficou sendo Sete-Luas, e bem batizada estava, que o batismo foi de padre, não alcunha de qualquer um. Dormiram nessa noite os sóis e as luas abraçados, enquanto as estrelas giravam devagar no céu, Lua onde estás, Sol aonde vais.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“in order to invent heaven and hell a man would need to know nothing except the human body”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Quando me dás a mão, quando te encostas a mim, quando me apertas, não preciso ver-te por dentro.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“o que vem amanhá é que conta, hoje é sempre nada”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“--I don’t quite grasp your meaning.
--Just as I don’t quite understand what I am saying. But back to the point….”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“não falou Blimunda, não lhe falou Baltasar, apenas de olharam, olharem-se era a casa de ambos.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“O mal é dos corpos, que a alma, essa, é perfumada.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Deus vê nos corações e não precisa de que alguém absolva em seu nome, e se os pecados forem tão grandes que não devam passa sem castigo, este virá pelo caminho mais curto, querendo o mesmo Deus, ou serão julgados em lugar próprio,quando o fim dos tempos chegar, se, entretanto, as boas acções não compensarem por si mesmas as más”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“The threat of rain appears to have nothing to do with Joao Elvas's desire to be alone, and one must not forget that, strange as it may seem, some men can spend their entire life alone and enjoy solitude, especially if it is raining and their crust is hard.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“BESIDES THE CONVERSATION of women, it is dreams that keep the world in orbit. But dreams also form a diadem of moons, therefore the sky is that splendour inside a man's head, if his head is not, in fact, his own unique sky.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Maus, são todos os homens, a diferença só está na maneira de o serem”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“se não houvesse tristeza nem miséria, se em todo o lugar corressem águas sobre as pedras, se cantassem aves, a vida podia ser apenas estar sentado na erva, segurar um malmequer e não lhe arrancar as pétalas, por serem já sabidas as respostas, ou por serem estas de tão pouca importância, que descobri-las não valeria a vida duma flor.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Joao Elvas wrapped his cloak tightly around him, tucked up his legs as if he were still in his mother's womb, and snoozed in the warmth of the hay, which gave off a pleasant odour generated by the heat of his body. There are refined men and women, and sometimes not all that refined, who cannot bear such odours and who take great pains to cover any traces of their natural smell, and the day will come when artificial roses will be sprayed with the artificial scent of roses, and these refined souls will exclaim, How lovely they smell.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Porque, enfim, podemos fugir de tudo, não de nós próprios.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“voar é uma coisa simples comparando com Blimunda”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“A man must earn his daily bread by some means some-where, and if his bread fails to nourish his soul, at least his body will be nourished while his soul suffers.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Baltasar Mateus, o Sete-Sóis, está calado, apenas olha fixamente Blimunda, e de cada vez que ela o olha a ele sente um aperto na boca do estômago, porque olhos como estes nunca se viram, claros de cinzento, ou verde, ou azul, que com a luz de fora variam ou o pensamento de dentro, e às vezes tornam-se negros noturnos ou brancos brilhantes como lasca de carvão de pedra.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“foi uma vez sem exemplo, só para que se ficasse a saber que Deus, quando quer, não precisa de homens, embora não possa dispensar-se de mulheres.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Lisboa cheira mal, cheira a podridão, o incenso dá um sentido à fetidez, o mal é dos corpos, que a alma, essa, é perfumada.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Deus, quando quer, não precisa de homens, embora não possa dispensar-se de mulheres.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“There is nothing healthier for a man than to walk on his own two legs”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“Deveria isto bastar, dizer de alguém como se chama e esperar o resto da vida para saber quem é, se alguma vez o saberemos, pois ser não é ter sido, ter sido não é será, mas outro é o costume, quem foram os pais, onde nasceu, que idade tem, e com isto se julga ficar a saber mais, e às vezes tudo.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

“e se a ele apeteceu, a ela apetecerá, e se ela quis, quererá ele.”
― José Saramago, quote from Baltasar and Blimunda

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.