
Said at the Dominican Monastery of Latour-Maubourg (1948); reported in Resistance, Rebellion and Death (translation by Justin O'Brien, 1961), p. 73
Source: Shantaram
Said at the Dominican Monastery of Latour-Maubourg (1948); reported in Resistance, Rebellion and Death (translation by Justin O'Brien, 1961), p. 73
“Mirrors, those revealers of the truth, are hated; that does not prevent them from being of use.”
Letter To M. Daelli on Les Misérables (1862)
Context: This book, Les Misérables, is no less your mirror than ours. Certain men, certain castes, rise in revolt against this book, — I understand that. Mirrors, those revealers of the truth, are hated; that does not prevent them from being of use. As for myself, I have written for all, with a profound love for my own country, but without being engrossed by France more than by any other nation. In proportion as I advance in life, I grow more simple, and I become more and more patriotic for humanity.
“The everyday world demands our attention, and prevents us from sinking into ourselves.”
As a romantic, I have always resented this: I like to sink into myself. The problems and anxieties of living make it difficult. Well, now I had an anxiety that referred to something inside of me, and it reminded me that my inner world was just as real and important as the world around me.
Source: The Mind Parasites (1967), p. 39
“I'm trying to see, when everything in this world conspires to prevent us from seeing.”
1960's, Conversations with Samuel Beckett and Bram van Velde' (1965 - 1969)
Source: Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence
"The Best of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the Clown Prince of Russian Politics" in VICE https://www.vice.com/en/article/xd5q47/the-best-of-vladimir-zhirinovsky-russias-craziest-politician