Quotes from Jose Bergamin

Better than succeeding little by little is failing at one go.

A belief which leaves no place for doubt is not a belief; it is a superstition.

If you really believe music is dangerous, you should let it go in one ear and out the other.

The first condition for making music is not to make a noise.

When you are listening to music it is better to cover your eyes than your ears.

The novel is born of disillusionment; the poem, of despair.

You need to have a God, a lover, and an enemy, says the poet. Exactly: you need to have three enemies.

The barometer that shows "variable" is an ironic indictment of God.

Who learns most from a good book is the author.

There are those who dance to the rhythm that is played to them, those who only dance to their own rhythm, and those who don't dance at all.

A German immersed in any civilization different from his own loses a weight equivalent in volume to the amount of intelligence he displaces.

Theology is the logic of the Devil.

The most original sin is not the thinker's but the poet's.

To be thirsty and to drink water is the perfection of sensuality rarely achieved. Sometimes you drink water; other times you are thirsty.

Try not to turn your life into a race, least of all an obstacle race.

The quality of a man's mind can generally be judged by the size of his wastepaper basket.

Life is a dangerous adventure, says the American, and he is half right: life is dangerous, but it's not an adventure.

There are no good or bad habits. All habits are, by definition, bad.

We say of an animal that it is intelligent, and we say the same thing of a woman; but in neither case is it usually appropriate, clearly for very different reasons.

Happiness is always a coincidence.

You can hesitate before deciding, but not once the decision is made.

Sensuality without love is a sin; love without sensuality is worse than a sin.

The man who spends all his time looking up to heaven is not always the best; in fact, he is usually the worst.

When there is nothing to fear is the time to begin fearing everything.