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“Every gesture is a revolutionary act.”
Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet
Ibid., p. 274
The Book of Disquiet
Original: Todo o gesto é um acto revolucionário.
“The unnatural and the strange have a perfume of their own”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
“Without madness what is man
more than the healthy beast,
corpse adjourned that procreates?”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
Poem "D. Sebastião", verses 8-10
Message
Original: Sem a loucura que é o homem
Mais que a besta sadia,
Cadáver adiado que procria?
Source: Poems of Fernando Pessoa
“I sometimes think that I enjoy suffering. But the truth is I would prefer something else.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
“Be what I think? But I think of being so many things!”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
Source: Fernando Pessoa and Co.: Selected Poems
“Whether or not they exist, we're slaves to the gods.”
Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet
A Factless Autobiography, number 21, tr. by Richard Zenith (Penguin Classics edition)
Source: The Book of Disquiet
“And, like the great damned souls, I shall always feel that thinking is worth more than living.”
Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet
Source: The Book of Disquiet
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
“But do we really live? To live without knowing what life is - is that living?”
Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet
Source: The Book of Disquiet
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
“There are no norms. All people are exceptions to a rule that doesn’t exist.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
“To be understood is to prostitute yourself.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
Ibid., p. 136
The Book of Disquiet
Original: Ser compreendido é prostituir-se.
Source: Poems of Fernando Pessoa
“The inventor of the mirror poisoned the human heart.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
“Life is what we make of it. Travel is the traveler. What we see isn't what we see but what we are.”
Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet
Original: (pt) Viajar? Para viajar basta existir. [...] Para quê viajar? Em Madrid, em Berlim, na Pérsia, na China, nos Pólos ambos, onde estaria eu senão em mim mesmo, e no tipo e género das minhas sensações?
A vida é o que fazemos dela. As viagens são os viajantes. O que vemos não é o que vemos, senão o que somos.
Source: The Book of Disquiet, p. 360
Context: To travel? In order to travel it's enough to be. […] Why travel? In Madrid, in Berlin, in Persia, in China, at the Poles both, where would I be but in myself, and in the sort and kind of my sensations?
Life is what we make of it. Travels are travellers. What we see is not what we see but what we are.
“I’m losing my taste for everything, including even my taste for finding everything tasteless.”
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
“I don't know what I feel or what I want to feel. I don't know what to think or what I am.”
Fernando Pessoa book The Book of Disquiet
Source: The Book of Disquiet