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Umberto Eco quotes

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“Books are not made to be believed, but to be subjected to inquiry. When we consider a book, we mustn't ask ourselves what it says but what it means” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.” Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum
“To survive, you must tell stories.” Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before
“Absence is to love as wind to fire: it extinguishes the little flame, it fans the big.” Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before
“Fear prophets, Adso, and those prepared to die for the truth, for as a rule they make many others die with them, often before them, at times instead of them.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“books always speak of other books, and every story tells a story that has already been told.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“learning does not consist only of knowing what we must or we can do, but also of knowing what we could do and perhaps should not do.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“A mystic is a hysteric who has met her confessor before her doctor.” Umberto Eco, The Prague Cemetery
“love can harm the lover when it is excessive.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“Such is the magic of human languages, that by human accord often the same sounds mean different things.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“Don't build a castle of suspicions on one word.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“the order of things must not be transformed, even if we must fervently hope for its transformation.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“The idea is sign of things, and the image is sign of the idea, sign of a sign. But from the image I reconstruct, if not the body, the idea that others had of it.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“it is always better when the person who frightens us is also afraid of us.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“The simple cannot choose their personal heresy . . . they cling to the man preaching in their land, who passes through their village or stops in their square.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
“The Devil is not the Prince of Matter; the Devil is the arrogance of the spirit, faith without smile, truth that is never seized by doubt.” Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose

Related topics

storytelling fanaticism love truth religion books arrogance absence influence images knowledge learning wisdom fear evil change words teaching meaning difference

Related sources

The Name of the Rose (12)
The Island of the Day Before (2)
The Prague Cemetery (1)
Foucault's Pendulum (1)