Jose Marti Quotes

Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity.

Charm is a product of the unexpected.

A selfish man is a thief.

Liberty is the right of every man to be honest, to think and to speak without hypocrisy.

It is a sin not to do what one is capable of doing.

Talent is a gift that brings with it an obligation to serve the world, and not ourselves, for it is not of our making.

He who does not see things in their depth should not call himself a radical.

The force of passion is balanced by the force of interest.

He who receives money in trust to administer for the benefit of its owner, and uses it either for his own interest or against the wishes of its rightful owner, is a thief.

A grain of poetry suffices to season a century.

But love, like the sun that it is, sets afire and melts everything.

what greed and privilege to build up over whole centuries the indignation of a pious spirit, with its natural following of oppressed souls, will cast down with a single shove.

It is the duty of man to raise up man.

A genuine man goes to the roots. To be a radical is no more than that: to go to the roots.

If I survive, I will spend my whole life at the oven door seeing that no one is denied bread and, so as to give a lesson of charity, especially those who did not bring flour.

Men have no special right because they belong to one race or another: the word man defines all rights.

Let those who desire a secure homeland conquer it.

Let those who do not conquer it live under the whip and in exile, watched over like wild animals, cast from one country to another, concealing the death of their souls with a beggar's smile from the scorn of free men.

Only those who hate the Negro see hatred in the Negro.

In truth, men speak too much of danger.

It is terrible to speak of you, Liberty, for one who lives without you.

A poem is something sacred. Let no one Take it for anything except itself.

I know that when the world surrenders, pallid, to repose, the murmur of a tranquil stream through the deep silence flows.

Books console us, calm us, prepare us, enrich us and redeem us.

Do something useful and you will have everything you want.

Doors are shut for those who are dull and lazy; life is secure for those who obey the law of work.

Fortunately, there is a sane equilibrium in the character of nations, as there is in that of men.

To educate is to give man the keys to the world, which are independence and love, and to give him strength to journey on his own, light of step, a spontaneous and free being.

America is a land of creators and rebels.

Socialist ideology, like so many others, has two main dangers.

One stems from confused and incomplete readings of foreign texts, and the other from the arrogance and hidden rage of those who, in order to climb up in the world, pretend to be frantic defenders of the helpless so as to have shoulders on which to stand.

Peoples are made of hate and of love, and more of hate than love.

The vote is a trust more delicate than any other, for it involves not just the interests of the voter, but his life, honor and future as well.

Like bones to the human body, the axle to the wheel, the wing to the bird, and the air to the wing, so is liberty the essence of life. Whatever is done without it is imperfect.

Like stones rolling down hills, fair ideas reach their objectives despite all obstacles and barriers. It may be possible to speed or hinder them, but impossible to stop them.

To busy oneself with what is futile when one can do something useful, to attend to what is simple when one has the mettle to attempt what is difficult, is to strip talent of its dignity.

No fruit on earth can rival the cemetery's crop

We are free, but not to be evil, not to be indifferent to human suffering, not to profit from the people, from the work created and sustained through their spirit of political association, while refusing to contribute to the political state that we profit from.

The only way to be totally free is through education.

The brave forget. It is those who fought less bravely, or those who fought without justice and live in fear of their victory, who forget the least.

Man needs to go outside himself in order to find repose and reveal himself.

Treacherous assassins, enemies of the people, and worthy of everyone's ridicule are those who, under the pretext of guiding future generations, teach them an isolated system of doctrines and whisper in their ear (instead of the sweet message of love) the barbarous gospel of hate.

Perhaps the enemies of liberty are such only because they judge it by its loud voice.

To beautify life is to give it an object.

It is necessary to make virtue fashionable.

"Racist" is a confusing word, and it should be clarified.

Men have no special rights simply because they belong to one race or another. When you say "men," you have already imbued them with all their rights.

The nation that buys commands, the nation that sells serves;

it is necessary to balance trade in order to ensure freedom; the country that wants to die sells only to one country , and the country that wants to survive sells to more than one.

Day and night I always dream with open eyes." - José Martí

Many houses were still full of light when, at the close of March 22, the people of the Círculo returned to their homes, which were gladdened with a fleeting gladness by an hour of justice - for there are still many slaves, black and white, in Puerto Rico!

To Educate is to Free.

Perhaps the enemies of liberty are such only because they judge it by its loud voice. If they knew its charms, the dignity that accompanies it, how much a free man feels like a king, the perpetual inner light that is produced by decorous self-awareness and realization, perhaps there would be no greater friends of freedom than those who are its worst enemies.

To change masters is not to be free.

People can only be free if they are truly educated.

To give one's life is a right only when one gives it unselfishly.