Quotes from The History of the Siege of Lisbon

José Saramago ·  314 pages

Rating: (3.6K votes)


“يا إلهنا العزيز، ارحم رجالاً أنفقوا أعمارهم في تخيل الأشياء!!”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“Every novel is like this, desperation, a frustrated attempt to save something of the past. Except that it still has not been established whether it is the novel that prevents man from forgetting himself or the impossibility of forgetfulness that makes him write novels.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“Claro que estamos em guerra, e é guerra de sítio, cada um de nós cerca o outro e é cercado por ele, queremos deitar abaixo os muros do outro e continuar com os nossos, o amor será não haver mais barreiras, o amor é o fim do cerco.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“أن الجنون في الإنسان ناجم عن اصطدام الإنسان بذكائه ذاته”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“Certaines relations harmonieuses se créent et durent grâce à un système complexe de menues contre-vérités, de renoncements, une espèce de ballet complice d'attitudes et de postures qui peut se résumer dans un proverbe jamais assez cité, ou plutôt une sentence, cette désignation lui convenant beaucoup mieux, Toi et moi nous savons, mais tais-toi et je me tairai. (ch. 5)”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon



“Switch on the light, she said, I want to know if this is real.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“We can be only too grateful that an Archbishop of Braga should have immersed himself so deeply in theological speculation, armed and equipped as he was for war, with his coat of mail, his broadsword dangling from the”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“pommel of his saddle and his helmet with a nose-piece, arms which might well prevent him from reaching any conclusions based on humanitarian logic,”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“...everything that is not literature is life.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“الفضيلة ليست شديدة السهولة مثل الرذيلة، لكن يمكن أن يستعان عليها”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon



“Devemos é reparar nas diferenças entre aquele tempo e este tempo, para falar, como para matar, é preciso chegar perto”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“[...] de tudo isso se podendo concluir que os homens são incapazes de dizer quem são se não puderem alegar que são outra coisa.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“[...] porque nadie sabe lo que el beso es verdaderamente, tal vez la devoración imposible, tal vez una comunión demoníaca, tal vez el principio de la muerte.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“To look, see and observe are different ways of using the organ of sight, each with its own intensity, even when there is some deterioration, for example, to look without seeing, when someone is distracted, a common situation in traditional novels, or to see and not notice, when the eyes out of weariness and boredom avoid anything likely to tax them. Only by observing can we achieve full vision, when at a given moment or successively, our attention becomes concentrated,”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“[...] el universo murmura bajo la lluvia, Dios mío, qué dulce y suave tristeza, y que no nos falte nunca, ni siquiera en las horas de alegría.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon



“Raimundo Silva entered, said good morning to no one in particular, and sat at a table behind the showcase where the usual tempting delicacies were on display, sponges, mille feuilles, cream cornets, tartlets, rice cakes, mokatines and, those inevitable croissants, in the shape dictated by the French word, a pastry that has risen only to collapse at the first bite and disintegrate until there are nothing but crumbs left on the plate, tiny celestial bodies which the huge wet finger of Allah is lifting to his mouth, then all that remains will be a terrible cosmic void, if being and nothingness are compatible.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“Raimundo Silva pensou, pessoanamente, Se eu fumasse, acenderia agora um cigarro, a olhar o rio, pensando como tudo é vago e vário, assim, não fumando, apenas pensarei que tudo é vário e vago, realmente, mas sem cigarro, ainda que o cigarro, se o fumasse, por si mesmo exprimisse a variedade e a vaguidade das coisas, como o fumo, se fumasse.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“...la experiencia nos muestra diariamente que cada palabra es un peligroso aprendiz de brujo.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


“[...] la gran prueba de la sabiduría es tener presente que hasta los sentimientos deben saber administrar el tiempo.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon


About the author

José Saramago
Born place: in Golegã, Azinhaga, Portugal
Born date November 16, 1922
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Bill is a fiction writer, but he writes in the first-person voice in a style that is tell-all confessional; in fact, his fiction sounds as much like a memoir as he can make it sound.”
― John Irving, quote from In One Person


“as it may be—matters. How you feel about your abilities—your academic “self-concept”—in the context of your classroom shapes your willingness to tackle challenges and finish difficult tasks. It’s a crucial element in your motivation and confidence.”
― Malcolm Gladwell, quote from David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants


“I've been scared of so much stupid crap in my life. Making a bad grade or not fitting in. God, I was scared of you. And it was all such a waste. None of it matters now that the real scary shit is here.”
― Cristin Terrill, quote from All Our Yesterdays


“to the Future: If Michael J. Fox doesn’t get his parents together by the prom, he might not ever be BORN!!!!!!!!! Proving the importance of the prom from both a societal as well as a BIOLOGICAL point of view!”
― Meg Cabot, quote from Princess in Pink


“the God of woman is autonomy”
― Alice Walker, quote from Possessing the Secret of Joy


Interesting books

Belladonna
(1.3K)
Belladonna
by Fiona Paul
Snapshot
(3K)
Snapshot
by Angie Stanton
Goodbye to Berlin
(6.7K)
Goodbye to Berlin
by Christopher Isherwood
Dying of the Light
(4.2K)
Dying of the Light
by George R.R. Martin
Berenice
(2.2K)
Berenice
by Edgar Allan Poe
Freddy and Fredericka
(3.4K)
Freddy and Frederick...
by Mark Helprin

About BookQuoters

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.