Quotes from Ryszard Kapu?ci?ski

The paradox lies in the fact that even if I do not want to be a colonizer, and have even protested against colonialism, I am a colonizer by the mere fact of membership in the nation that colonizes others. Only at the price of renouncing my own country and nation, and perhaps at the price of changing my skin color (a theoretical proposition), could I rid myself of this taint, this odium.

Incluso la peor de las situaciones, si en tal nos hallamos, se descompone en elementos simples entre los cuales habrá algunos a los que asirse, como las ramas de un arbusto que creciese en la costa, para oponer resistencia a los remolinos que nos tiran hacia el fondo. Esa grieta, ese islote y esa rama nos mantienen en la superficie de la existencia.

The political stage revolves many times faster than the stage of our daily existence. Regimes change, governing parties and their leaders change, but man lives just as he previously had—he still does not have an apartment or a job; the houses are still shabby, and there are potholes in the roads; the arduous task of making ends meet still goes on from dawn to dusk.

Czas pojawia siÄ™ w wyniku naszego dziaÅ'ania, a znika, kiedy go zaniechamy albo w ogóle nie podejmiemy. Jest to materia, która pod naszym wpÅ'ywem mo?e zawsze o?y?, ale popadnie w stan hibernacji i nawet niebytu, je?eli nie udzielimy jej naszej energii. Czas jest istnoÅ›ciÄ… biernÄ…, pasywnÄ… i przede wszystkim – zale?nÄ… od czÅ'owieka.

Ah yes it took a long time before I learned to think about man as a human being before I discovered his way of thinking before I took this path in this salutary direction and speaking of man or contemplating him I stopped asking such questions as is he white or black an anarchist or monarchist fashionable or outmoded ours or theirs and I began to ask what in him is of human being . . .

Kas me kunagi mõtleme sellele, et maailma rikus on mäletamatutest aegadest olnud prjade loodud? Alates Mesopotaamia niisutussüsteemidest, Hiina müürist, Egiptuse püramiididest, Ateena akropolist kuni Kuuba suhkrurooistandusteni, Louisiana ja Arkansase puuvillaistandusteni, kuni Kolõma söekaevadnusteni ja saksa automagistraalideni välja. Aga sõjad? Sõdu on igivanast ajast peetud selleks, et orje saada

Observing the behavior of individual fowl in a henhouse, we note that birds lower in rank are pecked by, and give way to, birds of higher rank. In an ideal case, there exists a linear order of rank with a top hen who pecks all the others. Those in the middle ranks peck those below them but respect all the hens above them. At the bottom there is a drudge who has to take it from everyone. (Adolf Remane, Vertebrates and Their Ways)

pequeños países del Tercer Mundo tienen la posibilidad de despertar un vivo interés sólo cuando se deciden a derramar sangre. Es una triste verdad, pero así es.

Every day I practice yoga, read poetry, and translate. What do I need politics for?

A los doce años, James Joyce escribía cartas dignas de atención; yo, con la misma edad, corría por el campo en pos de las vacas y no había leído un solo libro.

W czÅ'owieku, który uwa?a, ?e wszystko ju? byÅ'o i nic nie mo?e go zdziwi?, umarÅ'o to, co najpiÄ™kniejsze - uroda ?ycia.

Among these palm trees and vines, in this bush and jungle, the white man is a sort of outlandish and unseemly intruder. Pale, weak, his shirt drenched with sweat, his hair pasted down on his head, he is continually tormented by thirst, and feels impotent, melancholic.

Nairobi: la ciudad, vacía, no se había despertado aún de su perezoso sueño de domingo

With their strength, grace, and endurance, the indigenous move about naturally, freely, at a tempo determined by climate and tradition, somewhat languid, unhurried, knowing one can never achieve everything in life anyway, and besides, if one did, what would be left over for others?

after we polished our boots to the point that the sun extinguished itself out of envy

We wait for it, because we always wait for something that will be big, extraordinary and splendid, that will bring us great joy and fill us with pride while also reminding us that there exists something greater than locking and unlocking the office at the same hour, collecting chicks, flattering the boss, petty swindles, loveless embraces, downtime due to poor work coordination, the songs of Rinaldo Bali?ski, or vodka spilled on the table

A reporter is not only a megaphone into which dozens of figures, names and opinions are shouted. He'd also like to say something on his own occasionally. But what am I supposed to say?

Al fin y al cabo, el viaje no empieza cuando nos ponemos en ruta ni acaba cuando alcanzamos el destino. En realidad empieza mucho antes y prácticamente no se acaba nunca porque la cinta de la memoria no deja de girar en nuestro interior por más tiempo que lleve nuestro cuerpo sin moverse de sitio. A fin de cuentas, lo que podríamos llamar «contagio de viaje» existe, y es, en el fondo, una enfermedad incurable.

Life, they say, comes down to a few concrete things: A shovel. Payday. A movie. Wine. What else? Is everything else an aroma diffused on the air? It is, because you can smell it, but how can you grasp it?

Saluto, one of them said in farewell. Arrivederci, I called, so as not to be outdone.

The land is sacred. The land gives people life, and that which gives life is sacred.

The weather is like a slice of bread: familiar, an everyday taste, but without it...

Ci segnala subito che ci troviamo in un punto della terra dove una biologia esuberante e instancabile lavora, produce, prolifera e fiorisce senza sosta e senza sosta si ammala, si decompone, si tarla e marcisce.

Al vivir, el hombre siente que es todas las personas y todas las cosas, así que no puede anhelar nada puesto tiene todo lo que es posibe tener, y al sentirse todo, no puede hacer daño a nadie ni a nada pues nadie hace daño a uno mismo