Quotes from book
The Cave

The Cave
José Saramago Original title A caverna (Portuguese, 2000)

The Cave is a novel by Portuguese author José Saramago. It was published in Portuguese in 2000 and in English in 2002.

José Saramago photo

“He felt very tired, not from the mental effort, but because he had suddenly seen what the world was like, how there are many lies and truths”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 73 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Don’t quibble with the king over pears, let him eat the ripe ones and give you the green ones.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 78 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“You can learn almost everything from reading, But I read too, So you must know something, Now I’m not so sure, You’ll have to read differently then, How, The same method doesn’t work for everyone, each person has to invent his or her own, whichever suits them best, some people spend their entire lives reading but never get beyond reading the words on the page, they don’t understand that the words are merely stepping stones placed across a fast-flowing river, and the reason they’re there is so that we can reach the farther shore, it’s the other side that matters, Unless, Unless what, Unless those river don’t just have two shores but many, unless each reader is his or own shore, and that shore is the only shore worth reaching”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 60 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Time is a master of ceremonies who always ends up putting us in our rightful place, we advance, stop and retreat according to his orders, our mistake lies in imagination that we can catch him out.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 115 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“The only time we can talk about death is while we’re alive, not afterwards.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 22 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Human nature is, by definition, a talkative one, imprudent, indiscreet, gossipy, incapable of closing its mouth and keeping it closed.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 117(vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Creating is always so much more stimulating than destroying.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 107 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Words were not given to man in order to conceal his thoughts.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 124

José Saramago photo

“Where do begin, he asked, Where you always have to begin, at the beginning”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 53 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Even the strongest spirits have the moments of irresistible weakness”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 15 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Earthenware is like people, it needs to be well treated.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 21 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Lord knows why they depict death with wings when death is everywhere.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 112 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“I don’t doubt that a man can live perfectly well on his own, but I’m convinced that he begins to die as soon as he closes the door of his house behind him.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 29 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“There comes a point when the confused or abused person hears a voice saying in his head, Oh well, might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, and, depending on the particular situation in which he finds him he either spends his last bit of money on a lottery ticket, or places on the gaming table the watch he inherited from his father and silver cigarette case that was a gift from his mother, or bets everything he has on red even though he knows that red has come up five times in a row”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 14 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“There is relationship between sight and touch, something about eyes being able to see through the fingers touching the clay, about fingers being able to feel what the eyes are seeing without the fingers actually touching it.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 20 (Vintage 2003)

José Saramago photo

“Each part in itself constitutes the whole to which it belongs.”

José Saramago book The Cave

Source: The Cave (2000), p. 68 (Vintage 2003)