José Martí Citations
José Martí: Citations en anglais
“Rights are to be taken, not requested; seized, not begged for.”
As quoted in Inside the Monster : Writings on the United States and American Imperialism (1975) by José Martí, as translated by Elinor Randall, p. 27
Our America (1881)
Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
“Liberty the essence of life. Whatever is done without it is imperfect.”
Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
“The vote is the most effective and merciful instrument that man has devised to manage his affairs.”
Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
"Adúltera" [Adulterous Thoughts] (1883)
Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crece la palma
Y antes de morirme quiero
Echar mis versos del alma.
I (Yo soy un hombre sincero) as translated by Esther Allen in José Martí : Selected Writings (2002), p. 273, ISBN 0142437042
Variant translations:
A sincere man am I
From the land where palm trees grow,
And I want before I die
My soul's verses to bestow.
"A Sincere Man Am I" http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/46409-Jose-Marti-A-Sincere-Man-Am-I---Verse-I-, as translated by Manuel A. Tellechea, in Versos Sencillos: Simple Verses (1997) ISBN 1558852042
I am a sincere man
from where the palm tree grows,
and before I die I wish
to pour forth the verses from my soul.
Simple Verses (1891)
Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
"The Abolition of Slavery in Puerto Rico" (1893)
"The Abolition of Slavery in Puerto Rico" (1893)
“Liberty is the right of every man to be honest, to think and to speak without hypocrisy.”
Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
Sueño con claustros de mármol
donde en silencio divino
los héroes, de pie, reposan;
¡de noche, a la luz del alma,
hablo con ellos: de noche!
Están en fila: paseo
entre las filas: las manos
de piedra les beso: abren
los ojos de piedra: mueven
los labios de piedra: tiemblan
las barbas de piedra: empuñan
la espada de piedra: lloran:
¡viba la espade en la vaina!
Mudo, les beso la mano.
Simple Verses (1891), I dream of cloisters of marble
“One just principle from the depths of a cave is more powerful than an army.”
Martí : Thoughts/Pensamientos (1994)
“I have lived in the monster and I know its insides; and my sling is the sling of David.”
Of the United States, in a letter to Manuel Mercado (1895), as quoted in Research : The Student's Guide to Writing Research Papers (1998) by Richard Veit, p. 143
I (Yo soy un hombre sincero) as translated by Esther Allen in José Martí : Selected Writings (2002), p. 273
Simple Verses (1891)
Our America (1881)
