Czesław Miłosz Quotes

In a room where
people unanimously maintain
a conspiracy of silence,
one word of truth
sounds like a pistol shot.

1451

You see how I try
To reach with words
What matters most
And how I fail.

3248

The bright side of the planet moves toward darkness
And the cities are falling asleep, each in its hour,
And for me, now as then, it is too much.
There is too much world.

4683

Learning

To believe you are magnificent. And gradually to discover that you are not magnificent. Enough labor for one human life.

2166

Men will clutch at illusions when they have nothing else to hold to.

3586

Queremos comprender, creemos que si vivimos lo bastante vamos a comprender el mundo; dentro de una hora, mañana, dentro de un año,... Pero quizá no importe nada comprender o no.

2019

The purpose of poetry is to remind us
how difficult it is to remain just one person,
for our house is open, there are no keys in the doors,
and invisible guests come in and out at will.

3732

It is sweet to think I was a companion in an expedition that never ends

2278

I have defined poetry as a 'passionate pursuit of the Real.

1411

È difficile comprendere da dove provenga quest'orgoglio dei poeti, se sovente si vergognano che appaia la loro debolezza.

4220

A true opium of the people is a belief in nothingness after death - the huge solace of thinking that for our betrayals, greed, cowardice, murders we are not going to be judged.

4421

The work of human thought should withstand the test of brutal, naked reality. If it cannot, it is worthless. Probably only those things are worthwhile which can preserve their validity in the eyes of a man threatened with instant death.

3607