641 Quotes by José Saramago

The much-quoted immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary occurred but once so that the world might know that Almighty God, when He so chooses, has no need of men, though He cannot dispense with women.

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

In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.

That is the dream of all novelists-that one of their characters will become 'somebody.'

I do not just write, I write what I am. If there is a secret, perhaps that is it.

I believe that I've been asked all possible questions. I, myself, if I were a journalist, would not know what to ask me.

The minds of human beings are not always entirely at one with the world in which they live, some people have trouble adjusting to reality, basically they're just weak, confused spirits who use words, sometimes very skillfully, to justify their cowardice.

I'm not pessimistic. It is the world that is terrible. How can we be optimistic in the face of a planet where people live so badly, nature is being destroyed and the dominant empire is money?

Can you imagine what Bush would say if someone like Hugo Chavez asked him for a little piece of land to install a military base, and he only wanted to plant a Venezuelan flag there?