Quotes from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“To be great, be whole;
Exclude nothing, exaggerate nothing that is not you.
Be whole in everything. Put all you are
Into the smallest thing you do.
So, in each lake, the moon shines with splendor
Because it blooms up above.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“But I am not perfect in my way of putting things
Because I lack the divine simplicity
Of being only what I appear to be.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“To be understood is to prostitute oneself”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Without madness what is man
But a wholesome beast,
Postponed corpse that begets?”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Lord, may the pain be ours, And the weakness that it brings, But at least give us the strength, Of not showing it to anyone!”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“This world is for those who are born to conquer it, Not for those who dream that are able to conquer it, even if they're right.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Give me some more wine, because life is nothing.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Again I see you, But me I don't see!, The magical mirror in which I saw myself has been broken, And only a piece of me I see in each fatal fragment - Only a piece of you and me!...”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Isn't joyful or painful this pain in which I rejoice”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“There's a non-existent peace in the uncertain quietness”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Ser poeta não é uma ambição minha. É a minha maneira de estar sózinho.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“I believe in the World as in a daisy.
Because I see it. But I don’t think about it
Because thinking is not understanding…”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Ποσες και ποσες μασκες
Πανω απο το προσωπο της ψυχης φοραμε...
Οταν γι' αστειο η ψυχη τη μασκα θελησει να βγαλει
Αραγε ξερει οτι ετσι αφηνει
Το προσωπο γυμνο να φανει;
Η μασκα η πραγματικη, δεν νιωθει τιποτα κατω απ' τη μασκα
Αλλα κοιταζει μες απ' αυτη με ματια κρυμμενα.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“يولد الله . الآخرون يفنون. كلمة الحق
لم تأت ولم تذهب : وما تغيّر
هو الخطأ. لدينا أبدية جديدة،
وفي الأخير يكون ما ولى هو الأحسن.
العِلم الأعمى، ما يحرث هذه الأرض اليباب.
الإيمان الأحمق، يحيا بالحلم عن عبادته.
الرب الجديد محض كلمة جديدة أخرى.
لا تبحثْ ولا تؤمنْ : الظلام يغطي كل شيء.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Ποιος θα μ' εκανε ν' ακουσω καποιου την ανθρωπινη φωνη
Που θα ομολογουσε οχι μιαν αμαρτια, αλλα μιαν ατιμια
Που θα διηγιοταν οχι μια βιαιη πραξη, αλλα μια δειλη!
Οχι, ολοι ειναι το Ιδανικο, να, τους ακουω και μου μιλουν.
Υπαρχει κανεις σ' αυτο τον κοσμο να μου ομολογησει
Πως εστω μια φορα ηταν κακος;
Ω πριγκιπες, αδελφια μου,

Βλακες, ειμαι μπουχτισμενος απο ημιθεους!
Που εχει ανθρωπους σ' αυτον τον κοσμο;

Δηλαδη εγω ειμαι ο μονος
Λαθεμενος και κακος σ' αυτη τη γη;
...”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“...Queen, goodbye forever!
Your wings were sunbeams, and my feet are clay
I'll never be well if I don't get to bed
I never was well unless I was stretched out across the universe.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“كلنا نهدهد في الحضن طفلاً ميتاً”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“من سيقرأ أشعاري؟
صوب أية أَيْد ستتجه؟
زهرة أنا قطفوني من أجل متعة الأعين
شجرة نزعوا ثمارها للأفواه
نهر أنا و قَدَرُ مياهي أن تفارقني،
مقهور، و مع ذلك، تقريباً، مسرور
كَمَنْ أضجرتهُ ديمومة حزنه.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“A vida é um hospital
Onde quase tudo falta.
Por isso ninguém te cura
E morrer é que é ter alta.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Saudades, só portugueses
Conseguem senti-las bem.
Porque têm essa palavra
Para dizer que as têm.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Era já de madrugada
E eu acordei sem razão,
Senti a vida pesada.
Pesado era o coração.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

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― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“A verdade, se ela existe, Ver-se-á que só consiste Na procura da verdade, Porque a vida é só metade.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Se te queres despedir
Não te despidas de mim,
Que eu não posso consentir
Que tu me trates assim.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Vi-te a dizer um adeus
A alguém que se despedia,
E quase implorei dos céus
Que eu partisse qualquer dia.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Se eu te pudesse dizer
O que nunca te direi,
Tu terias que entender
Aquilo que nem eu sei.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Só com um jeito do corpo
Feito sem dares por isso
Fazes mais mal que o demônio
Em dias de grande enguiço.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“O moinho que mói trigo
Mexe-o o vento ou a água,
Mas o que tenho comigo
Mexe-o apenas a mágoa.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

“Duas vezes jurei ser
O que julgo que sou,
Só para desconhecer
Que não sei para onde vou.”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa

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Popular quotes

“Only a man can see in the face of a woman the girl she was. It is a secret which can be revealed only to a particular man, and, then, only at his insistence. But men have no secrets, except from women, and never grow up in the way women do. It is very much harder, and it takes much longer, for a man to grow up, and he could never do it at all without women. This is a mystery which can terrify and immobilize a woman, and it is always the key to her deepest distress. She must watch and guide, but he must lead, and he will always appear to be giving far more of his real attention to his comrades than he is giving to her. But that noisy, outward openness of men with each other enables them to deal with the silence and secrecy of women, that silence and secrecy which contains the truth of a man, and releases it. I suppose that the root of the resentment—a resentment which hides a bottomless terror—has to do with the fact that a woman is tremendously controlled by what the man’s imagination makes of her—literally, hour by hour, day by day; so she becomes a woman. But a man exists in his own imagination, and can never be at the mercy of a woman’s.—Anyway, in this fucked up time and place, the whole thing becomes ridiculous when you realize that women are supposed to be more imaginative than men. This is an idea dreamed up by men, and it proves exactly the contrary. The truth is that dealing with the reality of men leaves a woman very little time, or need, for imagination. And you can get very fucked up, here, once you take seriously the notion that a man who is not afraid to trust his imagination (which is all that men have ever trusted) if effeminate. It says a lot about this country, because, of course, if all you want to do is make money, the very last thing you need is imagination. Or women, for that matter: or men.”
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