Non-fiction authors from Italy

"To know the nature of man, the most direct and wisest way undoubtedly is to know what he has always been. Since when can theories be opposed to facts? History is experimental politics; this is the best or rather the only good politics."

"Nations are barbarian in their infancy but not savage. The barbarian is a proportional mean between the savage and the citizen. He already possesses no end of knowledge: he has habitations, some agriculture, domestic animals, laws, a cult, regular tribunals; he lacks only the sciences."

"Man is an enigma whose knot has not ceased to occupy observers. The contradictions that he contains astonish reason and impose silence on it. So what is this inconceivable being who carries within him powers that clash and who is obliged to hate himself in order to esteem himself?"

"Creating difficulties for himself for the pleasure of resolving them is a strange human mania."

"Burke said with a depth that it is impossible to admire enough that art is man’s nature: yes, undoubtedly, man with all his affections, all his knowledge, all his arts, is truly the man of nature, and the weaver’s web is as natural as the spider’s."

"If sovereignty is not anterior to a people, at least these two ideas are collateral, since it takes a sovereign to make a people. It is as impossible to imagine a human society without a sovereign as a hive and a swarm without a queen, for a swarm, in virtue of the eternal laws of nature, exists in this way or it does not exist."

"Men never respect what they have made themselves. This is why an elective king never possesses the moral power of a hereditary sovereign, because he is not noble enough, that is to say he does not possess that kind of greatness independent of men and that is the work of time."

"In a word, the mass of the people counts for nothing in every political creation. A people even respects a government only because it is not its own creation. This feeling is engraved on its heart in profound characters. It submits to sovereignty because it senses that it is something sacred it can neither create nor destroy. If, as a consequence of corruption and perfidious suggestions, this preventive sentiment is somehow effaced, if it has the misfortune of believing itself called as a body to reform the State, all is lost. This is why, even in free States, it is extremely important that the men who govern be separated from the mass of the people by that personal respect stemming from birth and wealth."

"In the Koran as in the Bible, politics is divinized, and human reason, crushed by the religious ascendancy, cannot insinuate its isolating and corrosive poison into the mechanisms of government, so that citizens are believers whose loyalty is exalted to faith, and obedience to enthusiasm and fanaticism."

"The wiser nations are, the more public spirit they possess, the more perfect their political constitution, the fewer constitutional laws they have, for these laws are only props, and a building only needs props when it has become out of plumb or when it has been violently shaken by an external force. The most perfect constitution of antiquity was without contradiction that of Sparta, and Sparta has not left us a single line of its public law. It justly boasted of having written its laws only in the hearts of its children."

"Human reason reduced to its own resources is perfectly worthless, not only for creating but also for preserving any political or religious association, because it only produces disputes, and, to conduct himself well, man needs not problems but beliefs. His cradle should be surrounded by dogmas, and when his reason is awakened, it should find all his opinions ready-made, at least all those relating to his conduct. Nothing is so important to him as prejudices. Let us not take this word in a bad sense. It does not necessarily mean false ideas, but only, in the strict sense of the word, opinions adopted before any examination. Now these sorts of opinions are man’s greatest need, the true elements of his happiness, and the Palladium of empires. Without them, there can be neither worship, nor morality, nor government. There must be a state religion just as there is a state policy; or, rather, religious and political dogmas must be merged and mingled together to form a complete common or national reason strong enough to repress the aberrations of individual reason, which of its nature is the mortal enemy of any association whatever because it produces only divergent opinions."

"Government is a true religion: it has its dogmas, its mysteries, and its ministers. To annihilate it or submit it to the discussion of each individual is the same thing; it lives only through national reason, that is to say through political faith, which is a creed."

"Faith and patriotism are the two great thaumaturges of this world. Both are divine; all their actions are prodigies. Do not go to them talking of examination, choice, or discussion; they will say that you blaspheme. They know only two words: submission and belief; with these two levers they raise the world. Even their errors are sublime. These two children of Heaven prove their origin to all eyes by creating and conserving; but if they unite, join their forces, and together take possession of a nation, they exalt it, they divinize it, and they increase its forces a hundred-fold."

"Any institution is only a political structure. In physics and in morals, the laws are the same; you cannot build a large structure on a narrow foundation, nor a durable structure on a moving or transient base. In the political order, therefore, if one wants to build on a large scale and for the centuries, one must rely on an opinion, on a large and profound belief. For if this opinion does not dominate a majority of minds and if it is not deeply rooted, it will furnish only a narrow and transient base."

"It is always necessary to call men back to history, which is the first master in politics, or more exactly the only master."

"As long as the aristocracy is healthy, the name of the sovereign sacred to it, and it loves the monarchy passionately, the State is unshakeable, whatever be the qualities of the king. But once it loses its greatness, its pride, its energy, its faith, the spirit withdraws, the monarchy is dead, and its cadaver is left to the worms."

"How many mistakes power has committed! And how often has it ignored the means to conserve itself! Man is insatiable for power; he is infinite in his desires, and, always discontented with what he has, he loves only what he has not. People complain about the despotism of princes; they should complain about that of man. We are all born despots, from the most absolute monarch of Asia to the child who smothers a bird with his hand for the pleasure of seeing something in the world weaker than himself. There is no man who does not abuse power, and experience proves that the most abominable despots, if they come to seize the sceptre, will be precisely those who rant against despotism."

"The mixture of children and men is precisely one of the most beautiful features of aristocratic government. All roles are distributed wisely in the world: that of the young is to do good, and that of old age is to prevent evil. The impetuosity of young men, who demand only action and creation, is very useful to the State; but they are too likely to innovate and destroy, and they would do much evil without the elderly, who are there to stop them. The latter in their turn oppose even useful reforms; they are too inflexible, they do not know how to accommodate themselves to circumstances, and sometimes a twenty-year old senator can very well be placed beside another of eighty."

"The sentiment that dominates all Rousseau’s works is a certain plebeian anger that excites him against every kind of superiority. The energetic submission of the wise man bends nobly under the indispensable empire of social distinctions, and never does be appear greater than when he bows; but Rousseau has nothing at all of this loftiness. Weak and surly, he spent his life spouting insults to the great, as he would have offered the same to the people if he had been born a great lord."

"The most beautiful monuments of Athens belong to the century of Pericles. In Rome, what writers were produced under the Republic? Only Plautus and Terence. Lucretius, Sallust, and Cicero saw the Republic die. Then came the century of Augustus when the nation was all that it could be by way of talents. The arts, in general, need a king; they only flourish under the influence of sceptres. Even in Greece, the only country where they flourished in the milieu of a republic, Lysippos and Apelles worked for Alexander. Aristotle owed to Alexander’s generosity the means to compose his history of animals; and, after the death of this monarch, the poets, scholars, and artists went to look for protection and rewards in the courts of his successors."

"We are all attached to the throne of the Supreme Being by a supple chain that restrains us without enslaving us. Nothing is more admirable in the universal order of things than the action of free beings under the divine hand. Freely slaves, they act voluntarily and necessarily at the same time; they really do what they will, but without being able to disturb the general plans. Each of these beings occupies the centre of a sphere of activity whose diameter varies according to the will of the Eternal Geometer, who can extend, restrict, check, or direct the will without altering its nature."

"Men do not lead the revolution; it is the Revolution that uses men. They are right when they say it goes all alone. This phrase means that never has the Divinity shown itself so clearly in any human event. If the vilest instruments are employed, punishment is for the sake of regeneration."

"Too many French scholars were the principal authors of the Revolution, too many approved and gave their support so long as the Revolution, like Tarquinius' sceptre, struck down only the tallest heads. Like so many others, they said, It is impossible to make a great revolution without incurring misfortunes. But when a philosopher justifies evil by the end in view, when he says in his heart, Let there be a hundred thousand murders, provided we are free, and Providence replies, I accept your offer, but you must be included in the number, where is the injustice?"

"If Providence erases, it is no doubt in order to write."

"Providence has given the French nation precisely two instruments, two arms, so to speak, with which it stirs up the world – the French language and the spirit of proselytism that forms the essence of the nation's character."

"This makes me think that the French Revolution is a great epoch and that its consequences, in all kinds of ways, will be felt far beyond the time of its explosion and the limits of its birthplace."

"Unhappily, history proves that war is, in a certain sense, the habitual state of mankind, which is to say that human blood must flow without interruption somewhere or other on the globe, and that for every nation, peace is only a respite."

"It is from the shadow of a cloister that there emerges one of mankind's greatest very greatest scourges. Luther appears; Calvin follows him. The Peasants' Revolt; the Thirty Years' War; the civil war in France; the massacre of the Low Countries; the massacre of Ireland; the massacre of the Cévennes; St Bartholomew's Day; the murders of Henry II, Henry IV, Mary Stuart, and Charles I; and finally, in our day, from the same source, the French Revolution."

"Now the real fruits of human nature – the arts, sciences, great enterprises, lofty conceptions, manly virtues – are due especially to the state of war. […] In a word, we can say that blood is the manure of the plant we call genius."

"Men gather the clouds, and then they complain of the tempests that follow."

"There is nothing but violence in the universe; but we are spoiled by a modern philosophy that tells us all is good, whereas evil has tainted everything, and in a very real sense, all is evil, since nothing is in its place."

"There is no chastisement that does not purify; there is no disorder that ETERNAL LOVE does not turn against the principle of evil."

"Either every imaginable institution is founded on a religious concept or it is only a passing phenomenon. Institutions are strong and durable to the degree that they are, so to speak, deified. Not only is human reason, or what is ignorantly called philosophy, incapable of supplying these foundations, which with equal ignorance are called superstitious, but philosophy is, on the contrary, an essentially disruptive force."

"You, masters of the earth – princes, kings, emperors, powerful majesties, invincible conquerors – simply try to make the people go on such-and-such a day each year to a given place to dance. I ask little of you, but I dare give you a solemn challenge to succeed, whereas the humblest missionary will succeed and be obeyed two thousand years after his death. Every year the people gather around some rustic temple in the name of St John, St Martin, St Benedict, etc.; they come, animated by a feverish and yet innocent eagerness; religion sanctifies their joy and the joy embellishes religion; they forget their troubles; on leaving they think of the pleasure that they will have on the same day the following year, and the date is set in their minds."

"There is the same difference between political theory and constitutional laws as there is between poetics and poetry. The illustrious Montesquieu is to Lycurgus, in the intellectual hierarchy, what Batteux is to Homer or Racine. Moreover, these two talents positively exclude each other, as can be seen by the example of Locke, who fumbled badly when he presumed to give laws to the Americans."

"The Constitution of 1795, like its predecessors, was made for man. But there is no such thing as man in the world. In my lifetime I have seen Frenchmen, Italians, Russians, etc.; thanks to Montesquieu, I even know that one can be Persian. But as for man, I declare that I have never in my life met him; if he exists, he is unknown to me."

"Why so many laws? Because there is no legislator. What have these so-called legislators done in six years? Nothing, for to destroy is not to make."

"Do not listen to the reasoners; there has been too much reasoning in France, and reasoning has banished reason. Put aside your fears and reservations, and trust the infallible instinct of your conscience. Do you want to redeem yourselves in your own eyes? Do you want to acquire the right of self-esteem? Do you want to accomplish a sovereign act? . . . Recall your sovereign."

"I am a perfect stranger to France, which I have never seen, and I expect nothing from her king, whom I shall never know."

"What are we, weak and blind human beings! And what is that flickering light we call Reason? When we have calculated all the probabilities, questioned history, satisfied every doubt and special interest, we may still embrace only a deceptive shadow rather than the truth. What decree has He pronounced on the king, on his dynasty, on his family, on France, and on Europe? Where and when will the troubles end, and by how many misfortunes must we purchase our tranquillity? Is it to build that He has overthrown, or are our hardships to last forever? Alas! A dark cloud hides the future and no eye can penetrate its shadows."

"'Long live the king,' cry the loving and the loyal, beside themselves with joy. 'Long live the king,' responds the republican hypocrite in dire terror. What does it matter? There is only one cry. And the king is crowned."

"Frenchmen, it was to the noise of hellish songs, the blasphemy of atheism, the cries of death, and the prolonged moans of slaughtered innocence, it was by the light of flames, on the debris of throne and altar, watered by the blood of the best of kings and an innumerable host of other victims, it was by the contempt of morality and the established faith, it was in the midst of every crime that your seducers and your tyrants founded what they call your liberty."

"The vices are very justly man's executioners."

"Providence has already begun the punishment of the guilty; more than sixty regicides, the most guilty among them, have already died a violent death."

"The return to order will not be painful, because it will be natural and because it will be favoured by a secret force whose action is wholly creative. We will see precisely the opposite of what we have seen. Instead of these violent commotions, painful divisions, and perpetual and desperate oscillations, a certain stability, and indefinable peace, a universal well-being will announce the presence of sovereignty. There will be no shocks, no violence, no punishment even, except those which the true nation will approve. Even crime and usurpation will be treated with a measured severity, with a calm justice that belongs to legitimate power only. The king will bind up the wounds of the state with a gentle and paternal hand. In conclusion, this is the great truth with which the French cannot be too greatly impressed: the restoration of the monarchy, what they call the counter-revolution, will be not a contrary revolution, but the contrary of revolution."

"It is written, By me kings reign. This is not a phrase of the church, a metaphor of the preacher; it is a literal truth, simple and palpable. It is a law of the political world. God makes kings in the literal sense. He prepares royal races; maturing them under a cloud which conceals their origin. They appear at length crowned with glory and honour; they take their places; and this is the most certain sign of their legitimacy."

"The eighteenth century, which distrusted itself in nothing, as a matter of course, hesitated in nothing."

"Nothing great has great beginnings."

"Never have nations been civilized, except by religion."

"The question is frequently asked: why there is a school of theology attached to every University? The answer is easy: It is, that the Universities may subsist, and that the instruction may not become corrupt. Originally, the Universities were only schools of theology, to which other faculties were joined, as subjects around their Queen. The edifice of public instruction, placed on such a foundation, has continued even to our day. Those who have subverted it among themselves, will repent it, in vain, for a long time to come. To burn a city, there is needed only a child or a madman; but to rebuild it, architects, materials, workmen, money, and especially time, will be required."

"If we do not return to the old maxims, if education is not restored into the hands of priests, and if science is not every where placed in the second rank, the evils which await us are incalculable: we shall become brutalized by science, and this is the lowest degree of brutality."

"No human institution can endure unless supported by the Hand which supports all; that is to say, if it is not especially consecrated to Him at its origin. The more it is penetrated with the Divine principle, the more durable it will be. How strange is the blindness of men in our age! They boast of their knowledge, and are ignorant of everything, since they are ignorant of themselves. They know not what they are, nor what they can do. An invincible pride bears them on continually to overthrow every thing which they have not made; and in order to work out new creations, they separate themselves from the source of all existence. Jean-Jacques Rousseau has, however, very well said, Little, vain man, show me thy power, and I will show thee thy weakness. It might be said, with as much truth and more profit, Little, vain man, confess to me thy weakness, and I will show thee thy strength."

"False opinions are like false money, struck first of all by guilty men and thereafter circulated by honest people who perpetuate the crime without knowing what they are doing."

"All grandeur, all power, all subordination to authority rests on the executioner: he is the horror and the bond of human association. Remove this incomprehensible agent from the world and at that very moment order gives way to chaos, thrones topple and society disappears."

"[M]an cannot be wicked without being evil, nor evil without being degraded, nor degraded without being punished, nor punished without being guilty. In short … there is nothing so intrinsically plausible as the theory of original sin."

"Wherever an altar is found, there civilization exists."

"All pain is a punishment, and every punishment is inflicted for love as much as for justice."

"Reason can make little headway on its own and struggles to be heard; often it has to be – so to speak – armed by the fearsome epigram. French wit pricks like a needle, so that the thread goes through the hole."

"In the immense sphere of living things, the obvious rule is violence, a kind of inevitable frenzy which arms all things in mutua funera. Once you leave the world of insensible substances, you find the decree of violent death written on the very frontiers of life. Even in the vegetable kingdom, this law can be perceived: from the huge catalpa to the smallest of grasses, how many plants die and how many are killed!"

"War is divine in itself, since it is a law of the world. War is divine through its consequences of a supernatural nature which are as much general as particular, consequences little known because little studied, but which are nevertheless incontestable. War is divine in the mysterious glory that surrounds it and in the no less inexplicable attraction that draws us to it. War is divine by the manner in which it breaks out."

"Opinion is so powerful in war that it can alter the nature of the same event and give it two different names, for no reason other than its own whim. A general throws his men between two enemy armies and he writes to his king, I have split him, he has lost. His opponent writes to his king, He has put himself between two fires, he is lost. Which of the two is mistaken? Whoever is seized by the cold goddess. Assuming that all things, especially size, are at least approximately equal, the only difference between the two positions is a purely moral one. It is imagination that loses battles."

"The first among the sciences is that of statesmanship. That cannot be learnt in academies. No great minister, from Suger to Richelieu, ever occupied himself with physics or mathematics. The genius of the natural sciences makes impossible that other kind of genius, which is a talent unto itself."

"All sciences have their mysteries and at certain points the apparently most obvious theory will be found in contradiction with experience. Politics, for example, offers several proofs of this truth. In theory, is anything more absurd than hereditary monarchy? We judge it by experience, but if government had never been heard of and we had to choose one, whoever would deliberate between hereditary and elective monarchy would be taken for a fool. Yet we know by experience that the first is, all things considered, the best that can be imagined, while the second is the worst. What arguments could not be amassed to establish that sovereignty comes from the people? However they all amount to nothing. Sovereignty is always taken, never given, and a second more profound theory subsequently discovers why this must be so. Who would not say the best political constitution is that which has been debated and drafted by statesmen perfectly acquainted with the national character, and who have foreseen every circumstance? Nevertheless nothing is more false. The best constituted people is the one that has the fewest written constitutional laws, and every written constitution is worthless."

"Genius does not seem to derive any great support from syllogisms. Its carriage is free; its manner has a touch of inspiration. We see it come, but we never see it walk."

"When we reflect, that the Inquisition, by its restrictions, and authority, would have prevented the French revolution,—it is hard to say, whether the Sovereign, who, wholly, and without reserve, gave up this instrument, would not, in reality, be doing an injury to humanity."

"During the last three centuries, there has been, by virtue of the Inquisition, a greater enjoyment of peace, and happiness, in Spain, than in the other nations of Europe."

"If you wish to extinguish that enthusiasm, which inspires great thoughts, and impels to noble enterprises;—if you wish to render men's hearts cold, and unfeeling; and to substitute egotism in the room of generous, and ardent, patriotism,—if you wish to do this, only take away from the people their faith, and make them philosophers."

"There is a great analogy between grace and genius, for genius is a grace. The real man of genius is the one who acts by grace or by impulsion, without ever contemplating himself and without ever saying to himself: Yes! It is by grace that I act."

"There is perhaps nothing more interesting than to listen to a superior man talk of what he does not know. He advances slowly, and scarcely puts his foot down without knowing if the ground is solid; he looks for plausible analogies; he tries to attach his ideas to higher and incontestable principles; he always has the tone of looking, never that of teaching; and it often happens that, even if he is mistaken, he leaves a great enough idea of his mental honesty."

"By means of [the microscope and the telescope] man touched, one might say, the two infinities. With the aid of glass, he could contemplate at his leisure the mite and the ring of Saturn. […] Master of glass through fire, and master of light through glass, he had lenses and mirrors of all kinds, prisms, containers, beakers, tubes, and finally barometers and thermometers. However all this originally began with the astronomical lens, which honours glass; and physics is born in some manner from astronomy, as it was written that, even in a material and gross sense, all science must descend from heaven."

"Man, in wearing himself out his whole life long by saying: What is that! and what is that called! and what does that mean! is a big spectacle to himself if he wants to open his eyes. All his natural powers tending towards the truth, he never ceases looking for true names; he senses a language prior to that of Babel, and even of Eden."

"The greatest of errors therefore would be to believe what the modern sect, which has only worked to obscure all truths, never ceases to advance, which is that what cannot be defined is not known, while on the contrary what is of the essence of what is perfectly known cannot be defined; for the more a thing is known, the more it brings us to intuition, which excludes all equation."

"All the science in the world began in temples, and the first astronomers especially were priests. I do not say that it necessary to begin again with the antique initiation, and to change the presidents of our academies into hierophants, but I say that all things begin again as they began, that they all carry an original principle that modifies itself according to the different character of nations and the progressive advance of the human mind, but which however always shows itself in one way or another. Priests have preserved everything, brooded over everything, and taught us everything."

"I remember that in a widely distributed French newspaper they asked the famous author of the Génie du Christianisme, if a nymph was not a bit more beautiful than a nun. In supposing them represented by the same talent or by equal talents (a condition without which the question would make no sense), there is no doubt that the nun would be more beautiful. The error best suited to extinguishing the true sentiment of beauty is that of confusing that which pleases with that which is beautiful, or in other words, that which pleases the senses with that which pleases the intelligence."

"Religious beauty is superior to ideal beauty, since it is the ideal of the ideal."

"The Christian woman is therefore a supernatural model like the angel. […] At the sight of these figures, however beautiful one can imagine them, no profane thought would dare arise in the heart of a man of taste. One owes them a certain intellectual admiration as pure as their models. Even in their clothing there is something that is not terrestrial. One must see there elegance without elaboration, poverty without ugliness, and, if the subject demands it, pomp without magnificence. They are beautiful like temples."

"In all that architecture has of the great and eternally beautiful, it is completely a production of the religious spirit. From the ruins of Tentyra to St Peter's in Rome, all the monuments speak; the genius of architecture is really only at ease in temples. It is there that above caprice, fashion, pettiness, licence, and finally all the gnawing cares of talent, it works without discomfort for glory and immortality."

"Final causes or intentions are the torment of modern philosophy, which neglects nothing to get rid of them. From this, among other things, comes its great axiom: nature creates only individuals. Indeed, since all classification supposes order, this philosophy has denied classes to deny order. In order to establish this marvellous reasoning, it fixes its suspicious eyes on the differences between beings to dispense itself from turning them to their similarities. It does not want to recognize that nuances between classes and individuals constitute another order, and that diversity in resemblance supposes intention more visibly than mere resemblance."

"It is permitted to modern philosophy, all swollen up with Bacon's venom, to repeat to us to satiety, to disgust, to nausea, that we make God similar to man; we will reply as many times that is not quite the same thing to say that a man resembles his portrait or that his portrait resembles him."

"[Bacon's] philosophy resembles this religion, which protests continually: it is entirely negative and thinks only to contradict. In indulging himself without measure in this natural inclination, he ends by contradicting himself without perceiving it, and by insulting in others his own most characteristic traits. Thus he blames abstractions without respite, and he makes only abstractions, in always coming back to his middle, general, and most general axioms, and in maintaining that individual instances do not merit the philosopher's attention. He never ceases to shower abuse on the science of words, and he only makes words. He upsets all the received nomenclature to substitute for them new terms, baroque or poetic, or both. With Bacon, neologism is a real disease, and always he believes he has acquired an idea when he has invented a word. He looks with pity at the alchemy that was fully operative in his time, and all his physics is only another alchemy quite babbling and wholly similar to children who talk a lot and produce nothing, as he said very well and very badly with respect to the ancient Greeks."

"Christianity is the religion of Europe […] it is mingled with all our institutions […] it is the hand of this religion that fashioned these new nations [of Europe]. The cross is on all the crowns, all the codes begin with its symbol. The kings are anointed, the priests are magistrates, the priesthood is an order, the empire is sacred, the religion is civil. The two powers are merged; each lends the other part of its strength, and, despite the quarrels that have divided these two sisters, they cannot live separated."

"To overcome oneself, to submit to circumstances, is a duty for everyone, but especially for women. [...] A man, my dear child, is an animal. Unfortunately for your sex, extremely proud; but happily for this same sex, extremely foolish. It is necessary to use his foolishness against his pride. In ceding skilfully and with grace, it is necessary to make him believe that he will always be king. Then he is content to allow himself to be led. As soon as a woman cedes the sceptre, it is given back to her immediately. That is all there is to the catechism of this world. Never forget it. You know by heart the beatitudes of the Gospel; but it is not forbidden to know others, as, for example, Happy are mild women, for they will possess men. Submit therefore my dear Adèle; submit, caress, insinuate yourself; you will soon find some imbecile full of wit who will say in his heart: ‘Here is the one I need.’ If after you have wed he comes to discover that you are a bit impertinent, the evil is not great."

"A woman can only be superior as a woman; as soon as she wants to emulate man, she is nothing but an ape."

"Let your brother work hard at the French poets. Let him learn them by heart, especially the incomparable Racine; never mind whether he understands him yet or not. I didn't understand him when my mother used to come repeating his verses by my bedside, and lulled me to sleep with her fine voice to the sound of that inimitable music. I knew hundreds of lines long before I knew how to read; and it is thus that my ears, accustomed betimes to this ambrosia, have never since been able to endure any sourer draught."

"The contrast between us two [Maistre and his wife] is the very strangest in the world. For me, as you may have found out, I am the pococurante senator, and above all things very free in saying what I think. She, on the contrary, will take care that it is noon before allowing that the sun has risen, for fear of committing herself. She knows what must be done or what must not be done on the tenth of October 1808, at ten o'clock in the morning, to avoid some inconvenience which otherwise would come to pass at midnight between the fifteenth and sixteenth of March 1810. "But, my dear husband, you pay attention to nothing; you believe that nobody is thinking of any harm. Now I know, I have been told, I have guessed, I foresee, I warn you," etc. "Come now, my dear, leave me alone. You are only wasting your time: I foresee that I shall never foresee things: that's your business." She is the supplement to me, and hence when I am separated from her, as I am now, I suffer absurdly from being obliged to think about my own affairs; I would rather have to chop wood all day."

"Every nation gets the government it deserves."

"I don’t know what the life of a rascal is like since I have never been one, but that of an honest man is abominable. How few men are there whose passage on this stupid planet has been marked by really good and useful acts! I prostrate myself before the one of which one can say: pertransivit bene faciendo; the one who had been able to instruct, console, and relieve his fellows; the one who made great sacrifices for charity; these heroes of silent charity who hide themselves and expect nothing in this world. But what is the ordinary man? And how many are there in a thousand who can ask themselves without terror: what have I done in this world? In what way have I advanced the common good and what will remain of me of good or evil?"

"Maistre attached the highest importance to the ‘philosophy of style,’ and averred that he who knew not how to write was incapable of metaphysics. The violence that pervades his thought and rhetoric is a response to the primal experience of the ‘terrible truth of evil,’ while his style incarnates his sense of the mystery of history. By conveying his thought in what Baudelaire called ‘rockets,’ Maistre provoked his readers into a state of fascination and shock."

"Joseph de Maistre is another of those men whose word, like that of Burke, has vitality. In imaginative power he is altogether inferior to Burke. On the other hand his thought moves in closer order than Burke's, more rapidly, more directly; he has fewer superfluities. Burke is a great writer, but Joseph de Maistre's use of the French language is more powerful, more thoroughly satisfactory, than Burke's use of the English. It is masterly; it shows us to perfection of what that admirable instrument, the French language, is capable."

"De Maistre and Edgar Poe taught me how to think."

"Behind the classical mask, behind the classical façade, behind the air of the Grand Seigneur, behind the orthodox Thomism, behind the official complete subservience to the monarchy of his day, which was nothing very splendid or impressive, there is in Maistre something much wilder, much more romantic, much more terrifying. He reminds one of someone like d'Annunzio or Nietzsche – not to seek for later examples. In that way he resembled Rousseau. Just as Rousseau imposed a kind of Calvinist logical strait-jacket upon what was really a kind of burning private lunacy, so Maistre imposes an official legitimist Catholic framework upon what is really a deeply violent, deeply revolutionary inner passion."

"[Maistre's] style is strong, lively, picturesque; animation and good humour temper his dogmatic tone, and he might even be deemed eloquent. It is true he does not disdain paradox in his thinking or violence in his language: he has neither the moderation nor the serenity of Bossuet. But he possesses a wonderful facility in exposition, precision of doctrine, breadth of learning, and dialectical power. He influenced the age that followed him: he dealt Gallicanism such decisive blows that it never rose again. In a word, he was a great and virtuous man, a profound thinker, and one of the finest writers of that French language of which his works are a distinguished ornament."

"The very tension increased his imaginative power, infused his nervous and brilliant style. Here is no Hobbesian materialism, but something far more sensitive. For de Maistre is at heart a romantic, shuddering at the collapse of the aristocratic order to which he belonged, horrified at the blasphemy of philosophers who believed that man could make himself. […] Of all the figures who have contributed to the colourful tapestry of political ideas he is one of the most singular."

"[Maistre] fulminated as a littérateur, even as a grammarian, and his frenzies not only failed to diminish his passion for the correct and elegant formulation but augmented it even more. An epileptic temperament infatuated with the trifles of the Word: trances and boutades, convulsions and bagatelles, grace and a foaming mouth – everything combined to compose a pamphleteering universe at whose heart he harried ‘error’ with blows of invective, those ultimatums of impotence."

"De Maistre has for me the peculiar property of helping me to estimate the philosophie capacity of people, by the repute in which they hold him."

"[A] fierce absolutist, a furious theocrat, an intransigent legitimist, apostle of a monstrous trinity composed of pope, king and hangman, always and everywhere the champion of the hardest, narrowest and most inflexible dogmatism, a dark figure out of the Middle Ages, part learned doctor, part inquisitor, part executioner."

"That brief, nervous, lucid style, stripped of phrases, robust of limb, did not at all recall the softness of the eighteenth century, nor the declamations of the latest French books: it was born and steeped in the breath of the Alps; it was virgin, it was young, it was harsh and savage; it had no human respect, it felt its solitude; it improvised depth and form all at once… That man was new among the enfants du siècle [children of the century]."

"Few men knew so perfectly as he knew how to be touching without ceasing to be masculine, nor how to go down into the dark pits of human life without forgetting the broad sunlight, nor how to keep habitually close to visible and palpable fact while eagerly addicted to speculation."

"Maistre admired Burke and echoed him frequently."

"One of [Maistre's] favourite expressions, and one which he often used was point-blank. This was the secret of his tactics, this was his gesture; this was the way he acted; he advanced alone against a whole enemy army, mouthing his challenge, and shooting the leader point-blank. He attacks in glory, to triumph, and earns an excess of reprisals. In Rome’s spiritual distress, this was the Christian Scaevola, and the three hundred others did not follow."

"Joseph de Maistre is unquestionably one of the greatest thinkers and writers of the eighteenth century."

"Il brigante è come la serpe, se non la stuzzichi non ti morde."

"Senza dubbio, ho fatto del male alla società, ma io facevo per difendere la mia vita; per essa avrei dato fuoco a tutto il mondo."

"La Patria, la Legge, la prima è una puttana, la seconda peggio ancora. E Patria e Legge hanno diritti e non doveri, vogliono il sangue dei figli della miseria. Ma vi è forse una legge eguale per tutti? Non dirmi ciò, non parlare di questo gigante mostruoso, poiché conosco che la legge leale non è mai esistita, nè esisterà fin tanto che Iddio non ci sterminerà tutti."

"A farm-labourer and cowherd, had joined the Bourbon army, killed a comrade in a brawl, deserted and lived as an outlaw for ten years. He joined the liberal insurgents in 1860 in the hope of an amnesty for his past offences, and subsequently became the most formidable guerilla chief and leader of men on the Bourbon side."

"In such a crowd, so numerous and composed of such heterogeneous elements, it might have appeared almost absurd to look for discipline; but perfect discipline there was, for, whatever his other qualities might be, Crocco most undoubtedly was a "ruler of men". His word in that band was law, and the punishment of disaffection was death."

"From having once been a peaceful shepherd, [he] had become the terror of southern Italy. [...] The usual occupation of Crocco's band was robbery of the wealthy Italians of the vicinity, battles with the Italian troops, and the seizure and robbery of rich foreigners, for whose deliverance heavy ransoms were demanded. When a detachment of troops was sent against them, they showed considerable courage. As they knew the country well, with its hiding-places and points of vantage, it was not easy to capture them."

"The so-called "General" Crocco, who played an important part as a brigand and Bourbonist leader in the partisan war of 1860-61, was an escaped convict, with thirty offences, ranging from petty larceny to murder, registered against him in the books of the Neapolitan tribunals. He pillaged both Bourbonists and Liberals with strict impartiality."

"In poco tempo era diventato il più temuto e rispettato capobanda della Lucania non soltanto per il suo coraggio, ma anche per la sua intelligenza di guerrigliero."

"Crocco had the greatest influence not only over all the brigand hordes, but over a great part of the country people, who recognised his extraordinary ability. He was known as the "General" not only by all the brigands, but also by the peasants."

"Non è differenza da i grandi, a gli uomini privati, mentre che dormono."

"Quanto più i luoghi son forti, tanto dee il principe esser più accurato in guardargli, perciochè non si sta da parte alcuna iu maggior pericolo, che da quella, d’onde gli par esser sicuro."

"L’haver buone leggi è nato, come dice il proverbio, da cattivi costumi."

"Ogni stato, come s’è detto, dee haver desiderio di pace, e fame con l’opere e con le parole dimostratione, ma con tutto ciò ne gli apparati militari, dee mostrarsi bellicoso, percioche la pace non armata è debole."

"Tanto nuoce il voler pigliare occasione troppo acerba, quanto lasciarla maturar troppo."

"Gli scrittori maledici sono con molta più attentione letti, che non sono quelli che vanno adulandi."

"Non è cosa che voglia tutta la diligenza dell’ uomo e che meno patisca gli errori, etiandio piccoli, quanto fa la guerra."

"Chi ha nimici potenti, dee per salvar se et ofTender loro, credere ferniamente due cose, verso di se contrarie; l’una che sieno arditi e prudenti, l’altra che con tutta la prudenza loro possano essi parimente errare."

"Non conoscendo Dio, come mai puoi Vantarti di dottrina? essendo cieco, De’ colori esser giudice tu vuoi."

"Il più tristo mestier che mai sia stato, Che sia, che mai sarà nel mondo tutto, A mio parere, è quel del letterato."

"Stampano i dotti e stampan gli ignoranti Libri diversi; e peggiorando invecchia Il mondo, in mezzo di tanti libri e tanti."

"Chi stampa un libro, par che sia obbligato A saper, quasi fosse Angiol celeste, Quanto è mai stato scritto, oppur sognato."

"O summam Dei patris liberalitatem, summam et admirandam hominis foelicitatem! Cui datum id habere quod optat, id esse quod velit. Bruta simul atque nascuntur id secum afferunt (ut ait Lucilius) e bulga matris quod possessura sunt. Supremi spiritus aut ab initio aut paulo mox id fuerunt, quod sunt futuri in perpetuas aeternitates. Nascenti homini omnifaria semina et omnigenae vitae germina indidit Pater. Quae quisque excoluerit illa adolescent, et fructus suos ferent in illo. Si vegetalia planta fiet, si sensualia obrutescet, si rationalia caeleste evadet animal, si intellectualia angelus erit et Dei filius. Et si nulla creaturarum sorte contentus in unitatis centrum suae se receperit, unus cum Deo spiritus factus, in solitaria Patris caligine qui est super omnia constitutus omnibus antestabit."

"Si quem enim videris deditum ventri, humi serpentem hominem, frutex est, non homo, quem vides; si quem in fantasiae quasi Calipsus vanis praestigiis cecucientem et subscalpenti delinitum illecebra sensibus mancipatum, brutum est, non homo, quem vides. Si recta philosophum ratione omnia discernentem, hunc venereris; caeleste est animal, non terrenum. Si purum contemplatorem corporis nescium, in penetralia mentis relegatum, hic non terrenum, non caeleste animal: hic augustius est numen humana carne circumvestitum."

"Invadat animum sacra quaedam ambitio ut mediocribus non contenti anhelemus ad summa, adque illa (quando possumus si volumus) consequenda totis viribus enitamur."

"Quin eo deventum est ut iam (proh dolor!) non existimentur sapientes nisi qui mercennarium faciunt studium sapientiae."

"Dabo hoc mihi, et me ipsum hac ex parte laudare nihil erubescam, me numquam alia de causa philosophatum nisi ut philosopharer, nec ex studiis meis, ex meis lucubrationibus, mercedem ullam aut fructum vel sperasse alium vel quesiisse, quam animi cultum et a me semper plurimum desideratae veritatis cognitionem. Cuius ita cupidus semper et amantissimus fui ut, relicta omni privatarum et publicarum rerum cura, contemplandi ocio totum me tradiderim; a quo nullae invidorum obtrectationes, nulla hostium sapientiae maledicta, vel potuerunt ante hac, vel in posterum me deterrere poterunt."

"Docuit me ipsa philosophia a propria potius conscientia quam ab externis pendere iuditiis, cogitareque semper, non tam ne male audiam, quam ne quid male vel dicam ipse vel agam."

"Nec potest ex omnibus sibi recte propriam selegisse, qui omnes prius familiariter non agnoverit. Adde quod in una quaque familia est aliquid insigne, quod non sit ei commune cum caeteris."

"A world without problems is an illusion, so is a world without solutions."

"The German poet Novalis said that the eye is a ‘superficial’ organ. That is indeed partly true. I will even add that it is an external organ: the eye with which we see the world is a part of the world itself. As soon as we open the eye, whup, the world pops in it!"

"The greatest optical illusion of all is to believe that an image has only one interpretation."

"Life, like art, is purposeless and unpredictable. That’s what makes it beautiful and rare! In life, we are given the choice between three paths: utopia, illusion or nonsense. The funny thing is, none of us get the joke."

"Life is a space between two illusions: Birth and Death..."

"Are the eyes an open door to the world, as poets say? Well, honestly, not really. The fact is, we see the world through a pair of tiny peepholes, the pupils of our eyes. Our brain functions as a highly creative ‘camera obscura’ – the forerunner of the modern photographic camera, named from the Latin for dark room."

"Your eyes – those incredible jelly balls beneath your forehead – capture everything around you. They are sense organs allowing you to see, and they give more information about your surroundings than any of the other four senses: hearing, taste, touch and smell."

"Colors are ghosts, they only start to exist when light is perceived on the retina as a stimulus and is processed into color perception in our brain."

"We long for a technological world, while keeping the natural aspect of our environment; we want the progress, while maintaining the traditions; we want organization while preserving individual freedom; we produce at a large scale while looking for unique products; we want clearness in our relationships, while we like to play with the ambiguity; we wish everlasting happiness while seeking incomparable magic moments… In reality, from all these contradictions, we are looking for only one thing: ASTONISHMENT. We would life to astonish us every day! That’s why we all, human beings, love playing, because games are synonymous of risk and astonishment. Games are enactments, and the act of playing is an illusion of the illusion of the reality."

"Your eyes see what your brain expects to see..."

"Open your eyes wide and immerse yourself in your dreams without any hesitation!"

"No man can be judged a criminal until he be found guilty; nor can society take from him the public protection, until it have been proved that he has violated the conditions on which it was granted. What right, then, but that of power, can authorise the punishment of a citizen, so long as there remains any doubt of his guilt? The dilemma is frequent. Either he is guilty, or not guilty. If guilty, he should only suffer the punishment ordained by the laws, and torture becomes useless, as his confession is unnecessary. If he be not guilty, you torture the innocent; for, in the eye of the law, every man is innocent, whose crime has not been proved."

"[On the death penalty] Seems so absurd to me that the laws, that are the expression of the public will, that hate and punish the murder, make one themselves, and, to dissuade citizens from the murder, order a public murder. (Chapter XXVIII)"

"As punishments become more cruel, the minds of men, which like fluids always adjust to the level of their surroundings, become hardened, and the ever lively power of the emotions brings it about that after a hundred years of cruel tortures, the wheel causes no more fear than prison previously did. For a punishment to serve its purpose, it is only necessary that the harm that it inflicts outweighs the benefit that “the criminal can derive from the crime, and into the calculation of this balance, we must add the certainty of punishment and the loss of the good produced by the crime. Anything more than this is superfluous, and therefore tyrannical."

"Desirous that our venerable city be preserved in its dignity and splendor, we must attend to its care with the greatest vigilance. Not only the basilicas, churches, and religious sites, in which many relics of the saints reside, but also the ancient buildings and their ruins should be handed down to posterity, as these confer upon the city its most beautiful adornment and its greatest charm; they attest to ancient virtues and encourage us to emulate their glorious example."

"You ask a thing ill-suited to my years, to yours both offensive and disgusting. For how can it become me, who am near forty, to write of love, or you, that are in your fifties, to read of it. That is a subject which delights young minds, and demands a tender heart. Old men are as fitted to tales of love as young men are to tales of prudence. Nor is there anything uglier than old age pursuing love, but lacking strength. Certainly you will sometimes find old men in love,—loved again, never; matrons and girls alike despise old age. No man’s love will hold a woman, but his whom she has seen in the flower of his youth. And if you hear aught to the contrary, there’s a lie behind it. Indeed I know, to write of love does not beseem me, who have already passed the noonday of life and am carried on towards evening; but it dishonours you who ask no less than me who write."

"For what, in all the world, is more common than love? What state, what little town, what family lacks examples? Who, that has reached his thirtieth year, has not endured some villainy for love’s sake? I conjecture from myself whom love has sent into a thousand perils, and I thank the Gods above that I have a thousand times escaped the ambushes prepared for me; more fortunate in my star than Mars whom Vulcan took with Venus, and caught them in an iron net, and displayed them, as a laughing-stock, to the other Gods."

"If we were to ask which country is the most corrupt in the world, the first answer to come to mind would be dictated by the perceived level of corruption. Perhaps one might think of Mexico, of South American countries, of African countries, of the Middle East or Italy. But the most corrupt is the UK. It’s not a type of a corruption that concerns civil servants, policemen or mayors; it’s a type of a corruption that is consubstantial to economic system. The British economic system feeds itself on corruption. And in the midst of this, the and its citizens have not woken up to the plight that their country is going through. A plight greater than earthquakes, greater than terror attacks."

"A very interesting report on the London property market as a refuge for secret assets and dirty money – published in March 2015 by Transparency UK – spoke of money coming from corruption or corrupt individuals, without ever mentioning the word “”; nor did it ever mention “organised crime”. The reason is simple: with the exception of a few very rare cases, in the UK the mafia is not something that you can see or hear. There aren’t dead bodies on the streets, or shootings. In Mexico or in Italy, between corpses, blood and drug seizures it’s impossible to think that the Mafia doesn’t exist. In Italy and in Mexico Mafia is loud and it smells of blood. In London, as in Paris, it exists, but it’s quiet, it acts in the dark. And most of all it doesn’t have the pungent smell of blood, but the reassuring smell of money. It’s not true that money doesn’t smell, it does smell indeed, but you definitely can’t rely on your sense of smell to identify criminal money."

"Unlawful revenue which, after being conveniently cleaned, is then reinvested within the legal economy: polluting it, corrupting it, forging it, killing it. Whether it’s reinvested in the London property market, in Parisian restaurants, or in hostels on the . Drug trafficking money will buy homes that honest folk can no longer afford; it will open shops that will sell at more competitive prices than legitimate shops; it will start businesses that can afford to be more competitive than clean businesses. But one thing must be clear: these businesses are not interested in being successful; the main purpose for which they were created was to , turning money that shouldn’t even exist into clean and usable money. In silence, illegal assets are moving around and undermining our economy and our democracies. In silence. But it doesn’t stop here; organised crime is providing us with a winning economic model. Organised crime is the only segment of global economy to have not been affected by the ; to have profited from the crisis, to have fed on the crisis, to have contributed to the crisis. And it’s in the crisis that it finds its satellite activities, such as usury, gambling, counterfeiting. But the most important – and most alarming – aspect of this issue is that it’s exactly in times of crisis that criminal organisations find their safe haven in banks."

"The , together with Wall Street, is the world’s biggest “launderette” of drug trafficking’s dirty money. It’s in , or in British branches or foreign banks, that criminal money gets laundered. And banks, in turn, are profiting by moving around and investing these huge amounts of liquid assets. Liquidity is what they’re after, especially in times of crisis. And liquidity is what criminal organisations have. All banks need to do is to lower their monitoring standards, their anti-laundering standards, and the job is done. The scandals concerning the relationship between banks and drug trafficking that emerged in the past few years are a proof of this. The case is an example. Europe’s first credit institute in terms of market capitalisation, one of the biggest banking groups in the world, has laundered drug money. ... Most of the world’s money laundering would not exist without the support of banks, who, in order to hide their account holders’ and investors’ identity, exploit the scheme: shell companies controlled by in turn by other shall companies based offshore, run by legal firms through trusts, in an infinite series of steps that make it impossible to track down the true account holder."

"The only company to have made a profit is the one in the , but because it’s in a tax haven, it doesn’t pay tax. This is how a company is able to generate revenue without having to pay tax anywhere. In tax havens, boundaries between what’s legal and illegal become very blurred. The recent leak on the Panama Papers revealed how international leaders, celebrities and businessmen from all over the world were using offshore companies to avoid making their assets public and, in some cases, potentially to dodge tax or hide illegal activities. Panama is where criminal capitalism and legal capitalism become one. ... Today in the heart of Panama you can still find the money of Mexican Narcos and major European businessmen. Different origin, same advantages."

"But the problem is that the boundaries of tax havens themselves can become very blurred. London is an international financial system that sees trillions of dollars from all over the world go through it each year, and that offers the most sought after financial services. This alone would be enough to make this city a desired anchorage for those looking to launder and reinvest unlawful funds. But there is more; besides this, the British capital is at the heart of the world’s most important offshore system."

"Have you ever asked yourselves why Mafias from all over the world are constantly opening restaurants, cafes or shops? Because this type of commercial activity has huge amounts of cash coming in. A Mafioso businessman’s number one priority is not to make money, but to hand out receipts in order to justify money that he already has. In Italy, where tax avoidance is extremely high, we know that when a shopkeeper is reluctant to give you a receipt he or she is almost definitely committing an offence, but almost definitely not a Mafioso. Businesses run by the Mafia will always give you a receipt. And the , in the years of the wavering ruble, safely stored away its money in London’s luxury homes, fuelling London’s property bubble with dirty money. The fictitious buying and selling of property is one of organised crime’s favourite ways of laundering money. ... This is how entire neighbourhoods in London are becoming unoccupied, turning into investments’ empty spaces. Money moves in, and people move out."

"A fully-serviced tower block that is empty for most of the year, whilst most Londoners can barely find an affordable place to rent in London. Houses in London are not being used as homes, but as concrete safes, looking after (often laundered) money."

"Sometimes, friendship may change the world."

"…a difficult dialogue is better than [having] no dialogue."

"A world with no place for God is dark, empty without hope."

"Everywhere in the world, young men and women like what is forbidden."

"Social justice without [civil or natural] rights is [maliciously] ideological and false."

"For the [ Chinese Communist Party ] it is better to have a bureaucrat who is not very bright but is fanatically loyal to the Party than a very intelligent bureaucrat who thinks independently."

"[The Supreme Court of California’s 1931 decision “People v. Blackburn”] demonstrates that religious liberty is truly protected only if donations even to the most marginal and “strange” religions are protected."

"China seems to have been very much similar to the West, both in the production of new religious movements and in attracting to them figures from the political left who were officially promoting the struggle against “superstition.” Reconstructions of “Chinese traditional culture” as “non-religious,” and of the rich Chinese religious pluralism as mere “folk religion” should be viewed as propaganda rather than history."

"When a national or local government calls a religious group “antisocial” [or “cultic” or “dangerous” or the like], it jeopardizes [that religious group's] right to honor and reputation, incites [unreasonable] discrimination, and interferes with the citizens’ right of deciding which religion they want to join free from governmental pressures—who would want to bear the stigma connected with joining a religion officially declared “antisocial”?"

"By excluding the intolerants from the scope of tolerance, Voltaire reduced tolerance to an empty box. Worse, he prepared the atrocities of the Terror of the French Revolution, which was in turn the model of Communist terror. Millions were killed by proclaiming they had no right to tolerance because they were themselves intolerant. …The dramatic mistake of Voltaire should be corrected by proclaiming that religions and philosophies have [the] right to be in different ways intolerant, and should still be tolerated."

"[The] Yan’an [Soviet] is [a] synonym of crushing dissent, real or invented, by torturing and killing. As [Communist Party member] Cai Qi reminded the audience at the April 28 [2024] symposium, the Yan’an Rectification Campaign was plotted by Mao, but its main organizer was Ren Bishi."

"It is one of the most difficult exercises for democracy to tolerate those who think differently, think independently from the powers that be, and sometimes behave differently or do not actively support the parties in power."

"You cannot “rejoice in the truth” without rejecting and exposing iniquity. The lack of conscience, charity, and love leads to bad governance, unjust administration, and an unstable society inimical to its own citizens."

"The victims of [pedosexual] priests and other religious ministers deserve our sympathy and respect—but so do those who have been slandered and vilified by the media based on accusations courts have later recognized as false."

"Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, the Shifu (Grand Master) of Tai Ji Men, played a key role in reaffirming that conscience is the basis of [natural and civil] rights and of global peace, inter alia through the Declaration of . Since conscience is universal, so are [natural and civil] rights."

"The lesson of [the story about the Kalaupapa peninsula lepers’ colony of Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi, and Belgian Catholic priest Father Damien De Veuster] is that living together in peace cannot be taken for granted. Even those who share a misfortune can ultimately not be able to live in peace together unless they discover again the role of the conscience. …order can be restored by returning to conscience."

"Wilson himself argued that it would be in the best interest of humanity if organized religions as we know them would disappear. There is, however, a misunderstanding. Wilson was not an atheist, nor was he against asking religious questions. Since his main interest were ants, it is to his interesting we should turn to understand more about his ideas on religion."

"While predicting the future is a rare gift, testifying for the truth is a duty for every woman and man of conscience. …A prophet, Romero added, is one who has an “undisturbed conscience.” This is an interesting statement. Only those who are firmly rooted in conscience as their moral compass may calmly tell the truth about injustice and corruption, no matter the risks. And risks there are since prophets easily make enemies."

"A key point of the texts attributed to Shotoku is that if rulers and bureaucrats believe they are the owners rather than the servants of the law, corruption will follow. Corruption was already a problem in the 7th century, and the Shotoku writings define it as privileging the officials’ private interests over the public ones. …Manipulating the public in the interest of the private is the very definition of corruption."

"Obviously the obedience to the spiritual master includes the risk of abuse. However, charges of abuse should be evaluated within the context of the religious tradition. Gurus who kill or [sexually abuse] their followers may not hide under pretexts of religious freedom. On the other hand, “being a guru” or establishing with the disciples a special relationship of trust and obedience is not illegal. It should not be evaluated through individualist and rationalist standards by media, or even by secular courts of law who do not understand the [ancient] religious principle of surrendering a great part of the disciple’s liberty to a spiritual master."

"Obviously, those suspected of sexual abuse, be they religious leaders or not, should be prosecuted—but not because Netflix says so. …[The television industry] knows that illicit sex always titillates and sells, and this is even more true for the combination between religion and illicit sex. …The producers of the TV shows claim that they give voice to victims of sexual abuse by religious leaders. This is legitimate and also important (if the victims are real, of course). However, the pain of the victims is not relieved if the shows stereotype and generalize, and further pain is inflicted on those who want to remain in the religious movements and are personally not guilty of any crime. …If I learned one thing, it is that in the long run invariably hate speech generates hate crimes, violence, and in the end murder. Netflix and the other networks should remember that hate speech can kill—and television can kill too."

"…Tai Ji Men refused all offers of settlement from the [National Taxation Bureau], insisting they were not guilty of tax evasion and should not pay even a single dollar for this. It may seem that this is a battle about money, but it isn’t for Tai Ji Men. They spent in legal fees only, in all these years of struggles, more than they would have paid had they settled with the NTB. They did not settle for a reason of principle. By settling, they would have admitted that they had been guilty of tax evasion, something that is both against their principles and factual truth, and in their eyes would even be a connivance with the criminal actions of some rogue officials. How can they tour the world and lecture about conscience and being good citizens, and at the same time admit they evaded taxes?"

"Tai Ji Men dizi are not professional diplomats, yet they play a diplomatic role through friendship and culture. They know that their effectiveness is rooted in self-cultivation—just as Guiguzi said so many centuries ago. …We all have a lot to learn from Tai Ji Men dizi. The reference to Guiguzi shows that perhaps they are so effective in what they do because they epitomize a millennia-old Chinese tradition, and a gift Chinese culture gave to the world."

"The jury is still out, but what Machiavelli described—either to recommend or subtly denounce it—was a diplomacy without conscience. It may look brilliant, but many who commented on Machiavelli noted that hidden in his works is the idea that a diplomacy totally separated from morality and conscience may achieve results occasionally but in most cases, and in the long run, would not work. …However we decide to read him, Machiavelli listed as the three features of effective diplomacy caution, art (meaning the mastery of a number of technical tools), and above all patience."

"Conscience is desensitized by materialism, but sometimes a “digital manipulation of consciences” by media that serve corrupt powers is also at work. The second [point of relevance for the Tai Ji Men case] is the role of religion and spiritual organizations to “keep alive the flame of collective conscience,” which is a pre-requisite for fraternity and peace. The third is that “corruption in its various forms,” including by “politicians” and “corrupt officials,” is one of the main obstacles that prevent our societies from being fraternal and peaceful. …When conscience is no longer the compass, corruption prevails. Corruption destroys fraternity and peace, tries to manipulate the consciences through slander and fake news, and produces injustices."

"I believe that public schools should not indoctrinate or proselytize for any religion but I am also persuaded that excluding an objective look at the role of religions and spirituality while designing a school curriculum would make it impossible for students to understand much of the art, culture, literature, and history of humanity in all continents. Even when reflecting on the momentous question of how education can produce good citizens, excluding any consideration of values based on spirituality can only lead to catastrophic results."

"I believe that Dr. Hong [Tao-Tze, the leader of Tai Ji Men], who has made himself heard about conscience all over the world, will be remembered for having rescued conscience from the problems Svevo was immersed in when he published his novel. Conscience had been assaulted not only by Freud, but before him by Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). They all suggested that rather than being something natural or native conscience has been artificially created inside us by social forces not particularly well intentioned. …Dr. Hong told us a simple truth, that we should forget ideologies and come back to conscience as the moral compass. Ideologies, as we know from the tragedies of the 20th century and are experiencing again in the 21st century, by obfuscating conscience create war and destruction. Only those who recognize the central role of conscience can build a civilization of peace and love."

"There are several misunderstandings about conscience. One is that the question of conscience is extremely complicated. As Dr. Hong [Tao-Tze] teaches us, this is basically a lie. A philosophical book about conscience can be very technical and difficult to read for the uninitiated, yet the common experience of conscience is very simple. …As Dr. Hong says, “conscience is innate.” It is within us. For believers, it is the voice of God; for non-believers, it is the voice of our deepest and noblest human nature. But the 19th century ideologues told us that it is a false voice of false gods."

"Being one of the scholars who immediately reacted to the 1995 report through press conferences, articles, and a book, I warned that the list [of 173 “cults” by a French Parliamentary Commission] was the most dangerous feature of the whole [anti-cult] enterprise. …I and other scholars coined the expression “effet de liste” (list effect), indicating that the damages done to groups that had committed no crimes and their members was irreparable. It took ten years [for] the French government to recognize that the list had perhaps not been such a good idea, and in 2005 it stated that it should no longer be used as a reference."

"There is physical pollution and there is the moral pollution of injustice. The two of them go together. We will not eliminate physical pollution if we do not eliminate moral pollution as well. …Getting the Buddhas back on their feet and creating a safe environment means changing our hearts, acknowledging the primacy of conscience, and facing and resolving injustice."

"[…]Kant believed that world peace was possible only if the enlightened elites in each country worked hard to promote conscience. Without conscience there would be no peace, no matter how much efforts a society of nations would make. I am not sure that Kant’s notion of conscience was the same as Dr. Hong’s and Tai Ji Men’s. Kant’s one was deeply rooted in a Protestant sense of guilt and sin, and he saw it more as an inner tribunal delivering an internal verdict of guilt for the bad actions we have performed. Yet, his idea of a necessary connection between peace and conscience remains valid."

"[Australian scholar David Thomas] Smith’s theory of religious persecution shows us that a general “system of tolerance of minorities” is perfectly compatible with the persecution of some groups, and the two things in fact go together in many modern democratic states, which answers the objection that Tai Ji Men cannot be persecuted because Taiwan in general protects religious liberty. It also shows that democratic states, unlike their totalitarian counterparts that are often irrational, cease the persecutions when they understand that the political cost of persecution has become higher than the cost of tolerating a group they do not like."

"The real lesson of Romero is that there are no legitimate reasons to deny [civil or natural] rights. His government in his time believed that [civil or natural] rights could be somewhat “suspended” to protect El Salvador from Communist influences coming from the Soviet Union via Cuba and Nicaragua. Romero was certainly not an admirer of the Soviet Union, but believed there should be other ways of protecting his country, not suspending [civil or natural] rights. He taught us that those who advocate for [civil or natural] rights are “for” their countries, not “against” them. …Romero wrote that religious persecution happens because “truth is always persecuted,” and that God blesses those who protest and fight for freedom. But they should know they should suffer, because “pain is the money that buys freedom.” …Romero’s key teaching, that there is no reason good enough to justify the violation of [civil or natural] rights, is relevant for both religious liberty and the Tai Ji Men case. There are governments that claim that limiting religious liberty is necessary to protect social stability or the harmony of the country. Romero’s message is that this is not a valid justification. [Civil or natural] rights protection defines what a legitimate social stability is, rather than the other way around."

"It is not possible to fully understand modern world culture without appreciating its connection and its continuity with the heritage of classical culture."

"Because my mother was Ingrid Bergman and my father was Roberto Rossellini, I was intimidated about becoming an actress and a director…Both [in terms of her parents’ reputations upon entering the acting world]…It opened doors, but the judgment was much more severe…In the press, they said: ‘She looks like her mother, but she certainly hasn’t inherited her talent.’ It crushes you. If they say it today, you just say: well, maybe that’s true. It doesn’t hurt you so much."

"…I have not even been nominated for one. But it doesn’t affect me any more. This is the great thing about getting old: things that preoccupied you when you were young cease to preoccupy you. I would have loved to have had one Oscar. Well, too bad. I have six sheep, two dogs, two children."

"Women executives have a different sensitivity. Male executives only understood makeup or fashion as an instrument of seduction, because that was addressed to them. They didn’t understand that we like to put on makeup or dress up just because it’s a game; it’s pleasurable."

"I’m not there now to represent beauty; I’m there to represent a different dream. It may be defined as joyfulness; life goes on and there are many chapters. I think that’s why they keep me."

"Ageing brings a lot of happiness. You get fatter and more wrinkles, and that’s not so good, but there is a freedom that comes with it. The freedom is: I better do what I want to do now, because I’ll be dead soon. So this is my last chance. Also, there’s a serenity that comes – I had the career I had, good or bad, I did the best I could, and now I continue pursuing what is interesting to me."

"[Civil] rights and democracy cannot be protected when independent media are routinely intimidated."

"Good journalism questions the land of a thousand [forbidden topics] even at the risk of uncanny and disturbing findings. …Now, journalists are neither detectives nor spiritual preachers. It is enough when they do their job properly. But there is always also an investigative side to the journalistic profession, as well as an ethical one. Journalists are not detectives but through their job they can perform some measure of investigation; journalists are not detectives, but they can provide facts that detectives may somewhat use. Journalists are not even spiritual guides, but, properly doing their job, they can offer occasions and clues that can also help to somewhat nourish the soul of their readers. Let’s all wisely stay away from preaching journalism, but good journalists can at least avoid poisoning their own as well as their readers’ souls."

"We cannot speak of [civil] rights without centering our attention on [the moral compass of] conscience, one among a few distinctive features that make humans human‒and humane."

"Before discussing specific situations and conflicts it is essential to acknowledge that problems can be solved only after the primacy of conscience has been recognized."

"If an arrogant bureaucrat is regarded as a servant of the public good only because he robs aboard of a larger ship than common thieves do, what is really social justice?"

"…laws should always embody justice, otherwise justice becomes what laws arbitrarily decide it to be. And, as the Tai Ji Men case shows all too well after 29 years, and in this special year 2025, laws can sometimes be unjust."

"Taxation imposed in an exaggerate, unjust, or unlawful way violates citizens’ fundamental rights to liberty and private property, and amounts to persecution, which is another name for violence."

"Religious freedom does not mean that all religions are the same: it means that truth matters, and this is what religion and the sense of the sacred are all about. Every man and woman has the right to know the truth, but only full freedom allows them to progress in that direction."

"…Senator Hatch taught us that an abusive tax system is particularly dangerous for freedom of religion or belief. Religious and spiritual movements are vulnerable, and ideologically motivated bureaucrats can do much damage to them. Tax reform and the defense of freedom of religion or belief are inseparable."

"Shifu and Shimu are the spiritual parents of the dizi, and the Tai Ji Men community would not have existed with only one of them."

"In 2010, Kilgour and Matas were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In fact, who works more for peace than the one who debunks lies, defends the innocents, and saves lives? Of course, Kilgour and Matas were never awarded the prize, but this tells us more about the world we live in than about the two [civil] rights defenders."

"…all human beings are guardians of other fellow humans. Being the keeper of somebody else does not in fact mean stripping others of their liberty and right to self-determination. It means to be always there, if and when needed—spiritually and, when possible, also materially."

"While violence is always something negative, force is the capacity and power to make the objects of will possible. It has a fundamental moral side in the cognate term “fortitude,” which is one of the four cardinal virtues, or the hinge excellencies that are required for a virtuous life."

"Freedom is immaterial and universal, and for this reason untouchable and undeniable. While liberties can be denied and curtailed, freedom cannot. While suffering for the loss of their liberties for more than a quarter of a century, Tai Ji Men dizi could always enjoy their freedom. Freedom lives in their souls and spirits and is not affected by external harassment."

"Yes, we all know that curiosity killed the cat, but indifference kills people, both physically and metaphorically, every single day, when it surrenders to despots, aggressors, and villains."

"French philosopher Paul Ricœur (1913–2005), in his book “De l’interprétation. Essai sur Sigmund Freud,” published in 1965, coined the expression “school of suspicion” to describe the collective cultural aim of such famous authors as Karl Marx (1818–1883), Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). While proclaiming very different and even opposite philosophies, in Ricœur’s view the ultimate attempt of Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche was to teach that reality itself cannot be trusted and fundamentally lies, and that all existing authorities are false. As “masters” (or teachers) “of suspicion,” their credo was not the legitimate critique of existing authorities for their mistakes and misdeeds, but the basic delegitimization of the very concept of authority in itself."

"Those who merely tolerate fail to acknowledge the full dignity and humanity of others, including enemies. Tolerance is in fact the concession of something that some who consider themselves superiors grant to some they consider inferiors, out of their graciousness or, worse, their haughtiness. When simply tolerated, people do not have an inherent right to exist because they are human beings: they enjoy existence only because someone else recognizes and permits it."

"When words, ideas and concepts lose universal meanings, and all becomes subjective perception, the chaos of conflicting interpretations, where the only absolute is that everything is relative, rips humanity apart—until Humpty-Dumpty-like masters find enough power to rise above others, imposing their vision to a world that will easily eat out of their hands, since it shares the same relativistic premises. ...No one can truly respect fellow human beings as brothers and sisters unless their inviolable dignity is fully recognized."

"…it is logically absurd to want to defend the environment by making humans suffer for this. In fact, the environment is for humans. As there can be no humans if the natural environment is inhospitable to life, an environment with no humans is not what all of us are interested in. …To function properly, [the society] needs to cherish the unalienable reality of its members. If someone considers a fellow human being or a group of humans or the whole of humanity as an enemy, a virus or a disease to be extirpated, societies become terrestrial hells. …From Tai Ji Men’s teachings one can in fact easily draw the idea that there can be no real care for the environment if there is no conscientious care for humans."

"Education is not the idea of adding to persons something they do not possess. It is not writing anew on an empty blackboard. It is regaining the consciousness of something that was lost by recalling it to memory. Even better: it is finding what is valuable but is deeply buried within us, and bring it to the surface. ...Paideia is in sum an ideal of civilization, independent from how many material things one knows or is able to do. The civilization of the educated is in fact not a society of Einsteins who all know everything. It is a community of free people, whose freedom consists in the ability of reconnecting with their lost selves."

"A disordered society—to use Kirk’s language—is both a mass and a mess of disordered souls. A band of disordered souls can hardly give birth to a justly regulated community. Order, both in the individual soul and in society, is the science of what comes first and what comes next in sight of decent behavior in all occasions. Order promotes a viable fellowship among human beings, a meaningful social existence, even a personal saintly life. It is a matter of priorities and hierarchy, of choices and waivers. Only an ordered community of ordered souls can feel the moral call to share one’s neighbor’s burdens."

"Peace is the most desirable of all human conditions. It is a promise of Paradise. When all human worries and griefs will be over, we will participate in the fullness of being with no unrest, anxiety, or disturbance. For believers, this is our ultimate goal. It is also part of our nature. Peace is our fate because peace is our origin. Our human nature is made out of peace, and peace is what we are made for. All troubles are in fact caused by the disruption of our original condition, which is both our origin and our destiny. Peace is then quite a serious thing—something that may be cast in doubt today, if we consider how this precious word is too often misused. Peace is the opposite of war, in a broader sense, but it is not just the absence of war. ...Only deeply peaceful men and women can build a truly pacific society, one that would be able to resist and last."

"The same truth we trust to finally prevail is the same truth [Freedom of Religion or Belief] is made of. Religions and spiritual ways are not all the same. What is the same is the honest spirit that animates all believers in different religions. What is really true of all religions, including religions that a believer in another religion may regard as false, is the afflatus for truth that motivates them. No matter how different beliefs and believers may be, no matter how many conflicts they may have between each other, that single element, a thirst and hunger for truth, makes them similar, make their devotees sisters and brothers, make them human and unique."

"Is there a risk that reducing the debate on religious liberty to different forms of state recognition, including the Italian “,” may implicitly or inadvertently confer to the state the power to grant to religious groups the right to exist? In practice, states do have such power in different countries. The question is whether giving such an authority to the state is morally and philosophically correct. Perhaps, a state should just watch over the compliance of its citizens with the laws (assuming the laws are just), regardless of their religious persuasion, and leave religious groups alone to live and self-regulate their lives. The state is not the source of religious liberty, although it should acknowledge and protect it."

"As the movie [The Book of Eli] teaches, words may have the power to convince and move if they are rich and meaningful, or the power to disappoint and let people down if they are poor and prosaic. Media use words to challenge power or to promote alternative powers, becoming either servants of the power, or watchdogs of the power, or another power themselves. All depend on the words that media choose to use: either the words of truth or the words of the yes-men and the servants of the powers that be. ...Truth is not limited to its material vessels. Media have the power to mobilize for freedom of religion, belief, and creed of Tai Ji Men and all other persecuted groups because they are guardians of words, and words may contain truth. Media only need to start believing it, in Taiwan and all over the world."

"Let’s interpret [Argentinian American economist Alejandro A.] Chafuen’s remarks in its deepest and broader sense: social justice has little or nothing to do with interference by abusive powers, be it from a government, a rogue bureaucrat, an ideological faction, or an organized group. As [Father Luigi Taparelli d’Azeglio] made clear, Chafuen argued, the “justice” implied in “social justice” is not only what the law establishes. It does include the strict, and even technical, legal aspects of the law, but it is chiefly a matter of social concord. It is philosophical before being legal; it is spiritual in nature."

"People who suffered persecution, as well as their relatives and friends, know that while individuals can always change their hearts, and even the cruelest criminal may convert, structures based on evil principles can only either persevere in their wrongdoings or change their foundations and become something totally different."

"Sin and evil will never be eradicated from humanity, but human beings have the moral duty to tame, contain, and battle sin as much as possible. Since politics is the art of governing people for that supreme goal that is good, let us hope that, on Taiwan’s Judicial Day, Taiwan’s politics would find a way to regain its independence from the wrongdoings of some of its branches and corrupt officials, and consider the solution of the Tai Ji Men case as a top priority. Only in this way will Taiwan become a full-blown democracy."

"The physicists' approach to the equivalence of Seiberg-Witten and Donaldson theory is based on Witten's interpretation of Donaldson's theory as a twisted supersymmetric Quantum Field Theory ... and on the concept of electro-magnetic duality."

"Noncommutative geometry, as developed by Connes starting in the early ’80s ..., extends the tools of ordinary geometry to treat spaces that are quotients, for which the usual “ring of functions”, defined as functions invariant with respect to the equivalence relation, is too small to capture the information on the “inner structure” of points in the quotient space. Typically, for such spaces functions on the quotients are just constants, while a nontrivial ring of functions, which remembers the structure of the equivalence relation, can be defined using a noncommutative algebra of coordinates, analogous to the non- commuting variables of quantum mechanics."

"It turns out that noncommutative geometry is a very good framework for theories of (modified) gravity coupled to matter. The main idea behind gravity and particle physics models based on noncommutative geometry is that "all forces become gravity" on an noncommutative space. In other words, it is only from the point of view of a slice of the geometry consisting of an ordinary spacetime manifold that we see a difference between gravity and the other forces, while from the point of view of the overall (noncommutative) geometry they are all seen together as gravity. As we will see, the main construction is not unlike the idea of "extra dimensions" many people are familiar with from string theory, except for the fact that the extra dimensions in these models are not only small, but also noncommutative, while the extended dimensions of spacetime maintain their commutative nature."

"Violence, bullying, and intimidation exist and are practiced on a daily basis within the mathematical community, and there is a widespread "culture of cruelty" among its practitioners ..."

"The general discourse of scientists about science is marred by beliefs of the Ancient Greeks in the kalos kai agathos: that which is beautiful must also be good, and conversely. This leads inevitably to portraits of scientists as cartoonish heroes: the more profound and significant the science, ... In fact what is truly heroic about science is the fact that it does uncover beautiful truths about the universe despite the ugliness and brutality of the human beings involved."

"Matilde Marcolli describes how she came to mathematics influenced by her parents’ involvement in Italian contemporary art. The abstract art of her father and the conceptual art of her mother, together with atonal twentieth-century music, share with mathematics an appreciation of abstract structures. Her own art includes painting, where surrealism allows her to express contrasts inherent in the practice of mathematical research and to explore the inner world of patient, difficult, and painful hard work and also the bullying and “culture of cruelty” within the mathematics community. ... Besides painting, Marcolli is also a writer in many forms, including science fiction, short stories, poetry, and a theater play."

"In order to uproot all spirit of opposition I believe it is fundamental to implement a broad educational endeavor, because certain prejudices of the Western world cannot be addressed in a few hours."

"The time has now come for choices between a messianism that keeps hope alive, which kindles the Jews by motivating them daily to efforts and sacrifices, such as the building of a culture which is adapted to a better society – not the best that utopian fantasy can imagine – and a messianism that is only a camoflauge for intransigent politics, which finds its very best allies in the fundamentalists of the Arab-Islamic world, who are its mirror image."

"The disappearance or decrease in prayer formulas of classical terms indicating the supernatural and the meaning of Christian revelation, first of all that of grace, has favored both the secularization of the rite and of Catholic mentality. Hence few today believe that the liturgical texts serve the priest to talk to God; they evoke a script of which the priest is the director or leading actor, the vogue word of "modern" liturgists."

"Personally, I am not prejudicially against wars, as long as wars have international legality, as long as they have an objective, this objective is verified, as long as they are the last resort, and above all as long as we do not play with words, that is, we do not fool people."

"The Constitution of the Italian Republic is far more advanced than Italy and us Italians: it is a smoking worn by a pig."

"The increasingly tired and rhetorical rituals of official commemorations that follow one another from year to year, instead of helping to make remembrance, fuel the molasses effect. Putting everything on the hagiography of the heroic anti-Mafia judge and nothing on those details of his last days of life that, taken one by one, say nothing. But which composed in the chronological mosaic help to understand much, if not everything. Namely, the political-terrorist nature of the Via D'Amelio massacre, with the peculiarities that distinguish it from that of Capaci in spite of the close consecutio temporum, and project it rather on what will happen many months later: the spring-summer 1993 bombs in Milan, Florence and Rome, and then the pax mafiosa that began with the failed (indeed, revoked) bombing of the capital's Olympic stadium, coinciding with the descent into the political arena of Silvio Berlusconi and Marcello Dell'Utri, and continuing to the present day."

"Migrants are human ammunition used in a war bigger than us and them."

"A courageous dissident beyond xenophobic and fascist ideas, which in Italy would have landed him in jail for incitement to racism under the Mancino law."

"In a small island near this, called Divari, the Portuguese , in order to build the city, have destroyed an ancient temple ... which was built with marvelous art and with ancient figures wrought to the greatest perfection, in a certain black stone, some of which remain standing, ruined and shattered , because these Portuguese care nothing about them. If I can come by one of these shattered images, I will send it to your Lordship, that you may perceive how much in old times sculpture was esteemed in every part of the world."

"In this land of Goa and the whole of India there are numerous ancient edifices of the pagans. In a small island nearby called Divari, the Portuguese in order to build the land of Goa have destroyed an ancient temple called Pagoda, which was built with a marvellous artifice, with ancient figures of a certain black stone worked with the greatest perfection, of which some still remain standing in ruins and damaged because the Portuguese do not hold them in any esteem. If I could obtain one of these sculptures thus ruined, I would have sent it to your lordship, so that you may judge in what great esteem sculpture was held in antiquity."

"And well I know that thy sex, 'Midst the offices dear unto us and humble cares, Can raise itself, and by learned writings Win for itself immortality."

"(About w:fr:Adrien Candiard) He could have followed in his father's footsteps, this young man who will turn 40 on 31 October. When he decided to embrace the novitiate, he was one of the most highly regarded ghostwriters for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was running in the French presidential primaries. He left DSK halfway through the race, almost as if he had foreseen the sex scandal that would force the socialist economist, who had since become managing director of the International Monetary Fund, to resign in New York in 2011."

"Is it right to declare a person dead based on a legal convention whose sole purpose is to facilitate organ transplants?"

"Unfortunately, all organs, with the exception of corneas, have this unfortunate characteristic: in order to be transplanted, they must be removed from the “donor's” body while their heart is still beating, their blood is still circulating, their skin is still rosy and warm, their kidneys are still secreting urine, and any pregnancy is still continuing, to the extent that it is necessary to administer curare drugs to prevent unpleasant reactions when the surgeon makes the incision. Do these seem like corpses to you? Yes, transplant surgeons assure us. No, according to a law of the state: in fact, “corpse means: ‘The human body deprived of cardiorespiratory and cerebral functions’” (Ministry of Health circular no. 24 of 24 June 1993)."

"Alessandro Nanni Costa, director of the National Transplant Centre, argues that in 40 years, the criteria for determining brain death “have never been questioned by the scientific community and are applied in all scientifically advanced countries”. But not in Japan. Is Japan to be considered a scientifically backward country?"

"Of course, Catholics have a terrible habit: thinking about the power of modernity and ignoring how this modernity, insofar as it seeks to deny religious transcendence, is currently experiencing its greatest crisis, as recognized even by certain secular writers."

"(About the book of Simone Weil entitled The Need for Roots) Of course, one cannot expect the formal perfection of other writings, but that is simply because “it is a book,” whereas the natural expression of tragic consciousness, such as Weil's, is the aphoristic form."

"(About Dante Alighieri) Of course, one cannot expect the formal perfection of other writings, but that is simply because “it is a book,” whereas the natural expression of tragic consciousness, such as Weil's, is the aphoristic form."

"It is not that Dante intends to combat the cupiditas of the clergy in order to save the autonomy of the State; rather, “it is the struggle against cupiditas, the need to thoroughly permeate public life with religion, that leads him to distinguish between the orders.” In other words, the central point of his thinking, which leads him to overcome both Guelphism and Ghibellinism, is "the intuition of the concordance between the affirmation of the autonomy of the Empire, hitherto supported by heterodox thinkers, and that of the purification of the Church affirmed by spiritual writers," which is in line with what the best interpreter of Dante's philosophy, Étienne Gilson, defines as the singular and unique feature of his thought, irreducible to any source."

"Gilson criticizes attempts to trace Dante's position back to Thomism or Averroism. For St. Thomas, every hierarchy of dignity is at the same time a hierarchy of jurisdiction, while for Dante—except for God—a hierarchy of dignity is never the foundation of a hierarchy of jurisdiction, and this corresponds to Dante's specific philosophical problem, which is not so much to define the essence of philosophy as to determine functions and jurisdictions. The principle governing this determination is absolutely irreconcilable with Thomism. St. Thomas knows only one ultimate end: eternal bliss, which can only be attained through the Church; moreover, the spirituality of the ultimate end implies that between temporal and spiritual power there is a hierarchical subordination of the means to the end. For Dante, on the other hand, man can obtain, through the exercise of political virtues, a human happiness completely distinct from heavenly bliss, even if the latter represents a higher end. The thesis of the “duo ultima” legitimizes the complete distinction between the political order and the religious order, which is equally universal to that of the Church, but autonomous and pursuing an end of earthly happiness."

"The hierarchy of dignity must not be confused with the hierarchy of jurisdiction. Such confusion, far from being homage to the order established by God among things, is a violation of it: and it is this confusion that allows “cupiditas” to prevail, which in philosophy means the opposite of justice, and in theology means the will perverted by sin. Therefore, recognition of the autonomy of orders is the authentic form of respect for the order established by God, or for the sovereignty of God himself."

"The originality of Dante lies not so much in his affirmation of the autonomy of the state, but in the religious reason for which it is affirmed. This is the path to asserting the religiosity of politics and the religious meaning of secularism."

"[...] it is within the theology of original sin that the mutual autonomy of the Empire and the Church is understood."

"The theocratic ideal is based not only, as is often repeated, even by distinguished writers and by Maritain himself, on the unity of faith, but also on the medieval non-problematization (at least not experienced problematization) of faith as truth. The theocratic ideal is unfeasible today, and not only from a prudential point of view and taking into account the actual situation, as too many theologians and, behind them, too many Catholics think; but it is unfeasible for ideal and logical reasons, because the spiritual condition of the modern age is precisely the problematization of faith as truth (how truth can become my truth). The theocratic ideal is therefore not, at least in my view, the absolute ideal of Christian politics, but its specification in relation to the spiritual situation of the Middle Ages: even if the unity of faith were to be reconstituted, the theocratic ideal would no longer be feasible, because it would be a reconstruction of unity subsequent to its problematization."

"These days, I am writing an introduction to Monarchia by Dante. It is a work that contains some very interesting insights into current affairs, including what I believe to be an unsurpassable definition of “laity”."

"(About Giorgio Gaber) He was an uncomfortable realist, he knew how to take stock of reality with the added bonus of wanting to change it, pointing out what he thought wasn't working. And I think this was mainly because he was a man of the theater. Because theater has always been about denunciation, while songs have not historically had the same function."

"(About Giorgio Gaber) Among the various memories I have of him on stage, what stands out is the profound feeling he left me with the first time I heard him shout about being communists, among other things, “because Enrico Berlinguer was a good person.” Another provocation, really, because it implied that ideologies are empty and that other things matter more. He pointed out that we often cling to them when we don't know how to define our identity, while normal things, such as being decent, can be a source of identity for man."

"I believe it would be scientifically very serious if one day we were to write the history of the Mafia as certain left-wing writers have written the history of [[Fascism]: that is, of a handful of criminals who hold in subjection a people who would not want to submit but are forced to do so by terror or a past of resignation."

"Discovering Genoa as it is described in books (and as its inhabitants love to recount it) is an enchanting experience. Firstly, because it restores that minimum of trust in the written word and oral tradition without which you would wander aimlessly in your musings on the universe. Secondly, because Genoa is truly beautiful. You look at it and it shines in its marvelous buildings, at any height above sea level. What's more, it is literally dazzling in its succession of imperial white, ocher, moss green, and reddish brown. From the Old Port to Matitone in the late morning hours, which should be scorching but are not. The streets are not noisy, because the August traffic makes everyone more civilized and carefree. All around and above you is breathtaking architecture of shapes and colors that you can stop and contemplate in ecstasy, without fear that every minute you pause will make your shirt stickier. In short, when it's not raining and there's no “macaia” (I've never understood how to spell it), Genoa is truly the most beautiful seaside city in Italy."

"When my government career came to an end, I received several offers to return to university as an associate professor. I chose Palermo because I consider it a bastion of legality, the place where I can best continue my civic and political commitment. Interviewer: What excites you most about returning? Nandoi dalla Chiesa: The desire to see my beloved places again and smell the scent of salt, jasmine, and orange blossom that I have carried with me. And then there is the sea at Mondello, the elegance of Via Libertà, and the delicious food. I know that many things have changed since my high school and military service days, but many others have remained the same. I will start again from these."

"(About the choice of Tony Renis as artistic director of the 2004 Sanremo Festival) A country that puts a man who proudly claims his Mafia friendships at the helm of the most important show on the most important public television network, a man who hosts bosses in his home, who has them brought lunch in their security cells when they are arrested, this is a country that sends a devastating message: being friends with the Mafia is not a problem, in fact it can be an advantage. And it is the same country that then puts its mafia victims on stamps and gives medals to orphans and widows."

"My earliest [memories of Palermo] are linked to the barracks on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, now named after my father, Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa. It is the headquarters of the Carabinieri Legion of sicily. At the end of the 1940s, my maternal grandfather was the commander, and I bear his name. Every summer, we would go to visit him. I remember his apartment and the stables. Then, in the late 1960s, I returned to that barracks as a teenager with my father, a Carabinieri colonel."

"In 1966, at the age of 17, I was struck by the sympathy that existed towards the Mafia. Even among my classmates at Garibaldi High School: when the boss Gerlando Alberti escaped a Carabinieri raid, many were happy and innocently took his side."

"I think that the mafia society has shrunk, but the pro-mafia society has expanded, that is, the society that manages to enter into synergy and convergence with the mafia for many reasons. In the North, we have been studying this worrying phenomenon for years."

"Nando dalla Chiesa, A teatro per la gente (pp. 63 – 64); in Andrea Pedrinelli (a cura di), Gaber, Giorgio, il Signor G. Raccontato da intellettuali, amici, artisti, Kowalski, Milano, 2008. ISBN 978-88-7496-754-4"

"Nando dalla Chiesa, Delitto imperfetto. Il generale, la mafia, la società italiana, Melampo, 2007. ISBN 9788889533208"

"Those who graft their lives onto God's thoughts realize in their existence what they have always dreamed of and certainly more. (in Città Nuova, 24, 1980)"

"Contemplating the flagellation of Jesus means learning to accept physical pain, whether as great as a serious illness or as small as a state of fatigue. Accepting it and offering it to Jesus, uniting it with his passion, because in this way it acquires infinite value. Man certainly suffers from negative factors such as accidents, illness, or misfortune... But God, who is love, gives another reason, a new meaning to his suffering: through it, man contributes to his own salvation, to his own sanctification, and contributes to that of his brothers and sisters. Yes, our suffering is also necessary to change people and create a new world."

"The focolarini see in Mary that person who, because she was faithful to her particular task, participated in the life of all humanity."

"Città Nuova, 24, 1980"

"Mary did not go to Elizabeth to sing the Magnificat, but to help her. So we, too, should not go to our neighbors to reveal the Christian treasure we carry in our hearts, but to share their sorrows and burdens and to share their joys and responsibilities."

"Pain is a gift that God gives to His creatures."

"There is no Christian without the cross. If we do not carry our cross, we cannot follow Jesus as he climbs Calvary carrying his cross. The cross is the root of charity. With it, we have a solid life, well-grounded and protected against storms. With it, we walk confidently. Our hearts must possess two great loves: Mary as our destination and the cross as the means to be another her in the world and fulfill God's plans."

"If we have experienced that what Jesus says is “all true,” it is easy to leave every other teacher for Him."

"Saint Thérèse and the followers of the little way seem to perpetuate the words: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt 18:3)."

"Everything that happens to us, such as pain and joy, blessings and misfortunes, significant events (such as successes and good fortune, accidents or the death of loved ones), insignificant events (such as daily work at home, in the office or at school), everything, everything will take on a new meaning because it is offered to us by the hand of God who is Love. He wants, or allows, everything for our own good. And sooner or later we will realize, looking with the eyes of the soul, that a golden thread links events and things and composes a magnificent embroidery: God's design for each of us."

"[...] when we begin to live the Gospel. At first, we are carried away by enthusiasm, as well as conviction, in this revolution that the Gospel proposes. But at a certain point, the Lord, through a speech or a writing or a conversation, makes us understand what is the indispensable condition for the choice of God as an ideal to be authentic. We are then told about pain, about the cross, about Jesus crucified and abandoned. In order to continue on our path and to continue to give Jesus to the world, we must then say a second “yes,” the “yes” to the cross, like the one Mary must have uttered in the depths of her heart as she listened to the elderly Simeon."

"Who is our neighbor? We know we don't have to look far: our neighbor is the brother who passes by us."

"The first quality of Christian love is to love everyone."

"To be Christian, we must love our neighbor now. So not a platonic love, not an ideal love: active love."

"To love, Christians must do as God does: not expect to be loved, but love “first.”"

"If we have the heart of a mother or, more precisely, if we set out to have the heart of the Mother par excellence: Mary, we will always be ready to love."

"Using language that is quite familiar today, we can say that love knows “no form of discrimination.”"

"Let us love one another! We will all meet again one day up there, united for all eternity, if we have had the courage to love one another without excuses here below. (undated, 1944?)"

"‘'I love you | because you entered my life | more than the air in my lungs, | more than the blood in my veins.’' (April 24, 1960)"

"The virgin is the one who advances without support, only with God. (October 31, 1968)"

"Virginity pleasing to God lies not only in physical virginity, but in that spiritual attitude which is “non-existence” for oneself, so that we may all be always for God. (October 31, 1968)"

"None of those who enter into God are lost. (December 13, 1968)"

"Today, in our consumer society, there is only one thing we want to save: time. (October 19, 1970)"

"Truly great events arise from small things. (January 10, 1978)"

"Of course, keeping Christmas and banishing the Newborn is something that causes pain. (November 22, 1980)"

"“Peace” is the effect of unity. (November 24, 1985)"

"I think that our religions have the medicine to cure this sick world and restore it to health, harmony, and peace. (March 8, 1990)"

"The isolated individual is unable to resist the pressures of the world for long, while in mutual love he finds a healthy environment, capable of protecting his purity and his entire authentic Christian existence. (November 1999)"

"The joy of the Christian is like a ray of sunshine shining from a tear, a rose blooming on a spot of blood, the essence of love distilled from pain, [...] which is why it has the apostolic power of a glimpse of Paradise. (‘'Spiritual Writings’')"

"w:it:Chiara Lubich - L'amore vince tutto (2021)"

"In the end, even the psychiatrist lived in the asylum like the other lunatics. A strange life, perhaps paradoxical, perhaps absurd, but all in all true. When it had to be established that things were not right, the comparison was with the lives of healthy people. A normality that, if I had to define it, I could only describe as pathological, since for the inhabitants of the asylum it is the “outside” that is abnormal."

"I believe that the perception of being children of God, not in the sense of a statement of principle but of an experience that attests to their involvement, must be an extraordinary existential condition, capable of giving strength and removing many of the doubts and disappointments that the human condition activates and feeds."

"In their own way, non-believers are frequent visitors to churches: they love them as intimate places, as special museums where they can admire art and music, but there they find themselves wondering about the miracle of that presence which, after two thousand years, still fills the whole earth and the lives of so many people."

"The non-believer is someone who feels the limits of their own existence, and who, while using reason and considering it the best way to solve many existential problems, and certainly as a scientific tool, wants to push it further to question the mystery."

"The priest seems to me to be the most appropriate person to talk about death: he knows that it is not a subject for despair."

"The old priest now knows that man errs, and that this often produces only temporary effects, so that what ultimately makes complete sense is precisely prayer."

"I don't know if the present time has brought us great benefits, but it has certainly invented a lot of fears."

"The most beautiful dimension is that of the priest who has nothing, but who is an integral part of an active and attentive community, within a flock that loves him."

"Despair is madness. Madness, the perception of the impossibility of living: being there, but as if not being there. Despair as an experience of madness is incompatible with life. It sees death, plans death, and kills itself and the other. Despair is a madness possible to man, to all men; it is, in fact, a perspective of man, linked to his need to be with others, to the fact that he cannot live alone, because human life is not solitude but sharing, belonging, attachment. Killing is a moment of infinite and incurable despair, and then the world appears useless and harmful and an individual perceives himself as irreducible to the world, as an alien, as an alienated person. A human feeling, possible, compatible with normality. Killing is linked to the madness of normality, to that capacity of man which, when in crisis, instead of helping him to live, transforms him into death and pushes him to kill and ruin himself, to kill himself. Madness is different from a clinical point of view, but also from a legal one (the inability to understand and intend: an infirmity that has arisen, preventing the human machine from functioning). I see madness as a mechanism that mirrors that of despair, of the feeling of the end: the incomprehensibility of the world, pulling out of it. Still being on the planet without knowing it. Close to others without needing the other. Even losing the memory of words and their meaning, giving up on communicating. Schizophrenia is an extraordinary example of this: being in the world as if the world were ending and as if being had no meaning, since all meaning is based on relationships. The schizophrenic is an island, a monad locked in a cell of existence, in a prison of the world. In isolation because that way they can still breathe. Life that comes closest to death. In short, madness already has to do with death, though not in its physical representation, but in its psychological representation, personality, and social representation, relationships. There are three kinds of death: that of the body, the most emblematic and absolute; that of the mind, which allows the body to remain active and even to take on an air of elegance; and then social death: deprived of every dimension, as if we had become transparent and, even within a crowd, no one could see us. The madman is a dead man who walks and breathes. If he kills, he does so without despair, perhaps out of anger; he is a corpse who kills. Madness has already overcome despair and for this reason lives without living, lives as if dead and, if it kills, kills already dead."

"The memory of images is stored within us, and it is to this that we attach our feelings."

"Fear is a defense mechanism that allows us to be aware of danger and therefore to take action to avoid its consequences."

"Isn't choice already an expression of freedom, even if only a basic one?"

"I deeply believe that priests are figures of great importance for non-believers."

"Dr. John Seward is the director of the Purfleet asylum, and throughout my reading of Bram Stoker's Dracula, I felt as if I had returned to San Giacomo della Tomba, my old asylum. For this reason, among others, the book literally drew me into its pages with the kind of engagement that only great writers can achieve. [...] If a novel has this ability, it is a masterpiece and needs no further proof. It is the mark that each reader leaves on it, and when they put it back on the shelf, it is almost as if they are separating themselves from something they have entered into and can only leave knowing that the book is there waiting and can be reread at any time."

"Dracula is a psychiatric novel in the sense that it focuses on strange behavior. The word madness is frequently used."

"(About Abraham Van Helsing) He is a psychiatrist, although he has many other specialties: he is a surgeon but also practices hypnosis, which he does regularly with Mina. He was one of Dr. Seward's teachers. He deals with the occult sciences: a term that well expresses the attempt to heal the contradiction between positivism and mystery."

"‘'The case of Renfield’', although fictionalized, does not lose its connotation of psychiatry and that of the time. On the contrary, it serves to raise a very pressing issue at the time: the relationship between mental illness, a natural phenomenon, and demonic possession, which is an extra-natural phenomenon. The psychiatric category that best lends itself to this issue is that which allows for rapid changes in behavior and thought. Renfield goes from a phase of excitement and delirium to a state of calm and apparent normality. Renfield's delirium is the need to feed on living creatures in order to obtain vital energy for himself and thus not die. To this end, he asks for sugar, which he places on the windowsill of his hospital cell to attract flies, which he then swallows. A subsequent phase is to encourage the development of spiders that feed on flies and then swallow them. And the next plan is to have mice that eat spiders and cats that eat mice, so that by eating cats he gains extraordinary vital energy. His whole life is conditioned and focused on this idea."

"A two-stage illness, disorder-disappearance of the disorder (normality), focuses attention because it is closest to demonic possession: when the demon possesses the body, the possessed person exhibits behaviors that disappear immediately when the demon leaves as a result of some therapy (exorcism). Dr. Seward's interest in Renfield probably stems from Kraeplin's discovery of manic-depressive illness in 1895: in the same patient, a phase of mania can be followed by a phase of depression in temporal sequence."

"While Renfield represents psychosis, Lucy represents neurosis. The hysteria that Bram Stoker uses in his novel is what we would today call “dissociative,” leading to a split personality. And with this form, he brings us back to the theme of antithetical behavior in the same personality: Lucy's hysteria is expressed through sleepwalking, which manifests itself in actions that the young lady performs in a state of unconsciousness, of trance, even if it is a trance in motion. This is an extraordinary condition, as it allows one to have experiences and encounters without remembering them when one returns to a waking state. And it is during her sleepwalking phase that she falls prey to Dracula."

"Blood is life; without blood, one is exhausted, close to the end. After sucking blood, Dracula has strength and even becomes young. Without it, he cannot live among the dead. Even in the present day, there are countless references to this symbolism, which take on religious expressions: Christ transforms bread into the body and blood of the Lord and thus gives life to men. He transforms it into blood because the body cannot live without blood. Moreover, when he dies on the Cross, he gives all his blood, so much so that the evangelist notes: water flowed from his side. He had given everything."

"Sucking is the gesture of life, the way in which a newborn baby lives. It attaches itself to the breast and devours it. Life passes from the mother to the child, who sucks it in. It remains a gesture full of charm, and in adult erotic games, sucking plays an important role: once again, it is a symbol of vital force. Dracula has none of the oral aggression of those who eat; on the contrary, he never eats, he only sucks. And in this, he has remained at the gesture of newborn life, the primary movement par excellence: if the child did not know how to suck, it would die."

"Among the possible metamorphoses of Dracula, the most significant, so much so that it has become known to all, is into a bird, a bat. The symbolism of the bird is boundless and is also part of life. The penis is popularly called a bird: precisely because it rises and in that flight gives life, the seed. The bat is a strange creature, we might say perverse: both because it belongs to the mammals and not to the bird species, and because it is nocturnal and at night becomes a bird of sin, of the forbidden. It also has the characteristics of attracting and repelling. During the day, it has no life and remains hanging limply in a cave, while in the dark it is reborn and continuously searches for its prey in that unstoppable flight. Blood therefore recalls the bird-penis, and the image of the ‘baptism of blood’ with Mrs. Mina attached to Dracula's chest, in a position reminiscent of fellatio, is evocative."

"We must now have the courage to say that the count even manages to soften us, to make us feel sorry for him. After all, he is not the monster with superhuman and unstoppable strength, one of those who appear on today's screens of stupidity. Dracula is still a man, he was one while he was alive, in the historical sense of the term; he was a hero, one who saved his people from the Turks, and at that time, the word ‘Turk’ brought to mind evil and extreme violence. A dead character yet full of needs: during the day he must return to a coffin hidden in the ground of the cemetery where he was buried, so much so that he must always carry it with him. He is terrified of good or signs of good: the silver crucifixes and consecrated wafers that Professor Van Helsing uses as his weapons of defense. He is a monster who is afraid and who can be defeated, so much so that this is the conclusion of the story."

"The strength of this novel, however, lies in the great and ever-present theme of the struggle between Good and Evil. A titanic struggle that moves from the everyday scene to the tragedies of the classical period and throughout literature with a capital L. After all, Dracula is Evil, even if he has a charm that sometimes captivates, and the group of characters who eliminate him represent Good, not least because they act in the name of Good."

"Professor Van Helsing is the priest of Good who, given the times, does not wear the robes of a monk or priest, but the garb of science. And so he interprets well the period in which the action takes place: positivism. A priest, therefore, who uses reason, the power of science, but who does not forget the sacred, magical instruments."

"Interviewer:Exhibitionists Andreoli: Of course, this is the mask that hides masochism. And keep in mind that, generally speaking, exhibitionism is a sexuality disorder. Showing off one's organ, but not because it is powerful. To compensate for impotence."

"[Second symptom of Italy's mental illness] Ruthless individualism. And mind you, I mean this adjective. Because a certain amount of individualism is normal, one must have one's own identity to which one attaches esteem. But when it becomes ruthless..."

"[The British] never talk. Instead, we talk even when we listen to music or read the newspaper."

"Interviewer: You can't joke about faith. Andreoli: Not faith in God, let's leave that aside. I'm talking about believing. Thinking that tomorrow, at eight in the morning, there will be a miracle. Then whether it's God, Saint Januarius, or anyone else, it doesn't matter. In short, to be clear, we live in a disaster, in a sewer, but we believe that tomorrow morning at eight there will be a miracle that will change our lives. We're waiting for Godot, who isn't there. But try explaining that to Italians."

"Interviewer: Hidden masochism, ruthless individualism, acting, belief in miracles. We're in a terrible state, Professor Andreoli. Andreoli: That's right. No psychiatrist can save this patient that is Italy. I can't even take away these symptoms, because without them you would feel dead."

"All it takes is a hundred people willing to die as suicide bombers, strapping explosives to themselves, to render ridiculous the system of certainty and the certainty of power on this earth, of the potentates of this world."

"Well, if I have been, and am, a good psychiatrist, if I have helped my crazy patients, it is because of my fragility, because of the fear of a madness that lurks within me, because of the fragility that I feel capable of splitting me in two, of taking away my will to live and making me like a depressed person who only wants to disappear in order to erase the pain that shapes him."

"The Song of Songs speaks of necessary love: being two makes it possible to exist for those who separately would not have made it, would have broken."

"Pain is a quality of being fragile."

"Pain is the primary source of fragility because it breaks you and you feel shattered, unable to put the pieces you see in yourself back together; indeed, you are a pile of fragments, grains of sand that should come together and shape, sculpt a man."

"Pain makes more noise than any other noise."

"The limit of energy becomes the limit of civilization, of a civilization that seems to be one of well-being and that at times appears to be a civilization of waste."

"Marriage is my life with her and our children, but none of us can say that it has been a forty-year trip out of town."

"Marriage is the greatest of human frailties, capable of producing good and incapable of avoiding evil."

"The powerful do not believe they need to be resurrected because they think they are unshakable, like the Eiffel Tower made of iron and not flesh, soulless, cold as a railroad track."

"The powerful do not know how to love; the man of iron is cold, he knows how to envelop and bind in order to subjugate, to enslave."

"The sense of belonging. This is marriage."

"The old man lives on the dead and awaits death."

"Love has nothing free about it, because fear does not allow this utopia to be exercised."

"Man would not survive in the dark without a light bulb to illuminate a page to read or to power a computer on which to type a new world, which also depends on energy."

"The end is not a distant appointment, but a present that perpetuates itself, and so we die continuously and are dead even when we breathe."

"The fragility of fine Murano glass or Bohemian crystal: beautiful, elegant, but it takes very little for it to shatter and turn into useless fragments. Knowing its nature, one must be careful how one uses it, how one preserves it: one must keep it away from places where impetuous actions are performed, because otherwise that fine glass becomes nothing, just a memory."

"Fragility remakes man, while power destroys him, reducing him to fragments that turn to dust."

"Jealousy is the fear of being alone, now that the perfect formula for wholeness has been found, which means completion, security."

"My fragility leads me to love, so love is the answer to a need born of fragility, of the perception that without the other, my being in the world is doomed only to death, to non-existence; and the loneliness of the glass man is the worst of all diseases, of the diseases of living."

"Fear is not only linked to physical pain, to the feeling of no longer functioning, it also attaches itself to well-being, which has a mental and social dimension, to how one lives with one's personality within that environment made up of relationships."

"The perception of the end is within each of us, it is a stigma of the species, a mark of its transience."

"The presence of the divine in the world should serve to calm the visceral pride and sense of human omnipotence that exalt power and domination."

"Repetition has always been the source of certainty."

"Old certainties appear as gross errors, and there is now a need to educate, and to do so urgently, at a time when no one knows what it means anymore, since for several generations, throughout the 20th century, this term has not been used, obsolete and with the flavor of something dirty and perverse."

"Violence does not make history, it is not a difficulty that can be worked through, but simply a war that leads only to the death of love and sometimes even of its protagonists."

"Beliefs in heaven, populated by the living, express well the denial of death and the desire to remain."

"In the family, where daily disagreements have disappeared, dramas made up of extreme behaviors arise."

"To accept defeat, you have to believe in those who decree it, you have to be sure that the competitions are not rigged, that they do not become a business, but that they are conducted with absolute respect for skills and talents, whatever field they may be in."

"If your neighbor is antisocial and does not like your noise, he turns on his own and cancels yours."

"We sell them weapons, because the disease of power has spread everywhere, and they throw away every resource, even human lives, to wage and win wars, wars of misery."

"Sometimes you lose because you didn't choose the right field of trial."

"An adult man cannot be reduced to an active and productive man."

"(Commenting on the 1904 law on mental hospitals, inspired by the principles of the anthropological-positive school and Cesare Lombroso) Prison and Psychiatric hospital are consistently two ways of defending against criminals and the insane, particularly against their dangerousness. The insane are not responsible for their actions (and therefore not punishable), but for this very reason their wishes cannot be respected when it comes to committing them to an asylum: the will of the community must prevail over that of the individual. Insanity, after all, could not be cured, only restrained and contained: this was the task of psychiatry. (Il manicomio del 1904, p. 50)"

"Madness is an integral part of culture, and the madman is a citizen of society, even when he is confined to an asylum. It is not possible to understand madness by dealing only with madness. On the other hand, one cannot have a complete picture of a society without the chapter on its madness. (Intorno alla follia, p. 62)"

"Even for history there is a “principle of indeterminacy” and here too, in defining some facts, one must give up describing others. The impression arises that many accounts of a historical period are possible depending on what one chooses and consequently eliminates. And it is impossible to tell a story without making choices. (Intorno alla follia, p. 63)"

"The name Gustave Le Bon recalls that of Gabriel Tarde, who in 1890 published ‘'The Laws of Imitation’' and argued that the psychological phenomenon of imitation can explain all forms of social bonding and all the secrets of social life. With Tarde, the sociological dispute was already alive. It was this author, in contrast to the dominant sociologist of the time, Émile Durkheim, who claimed that the era of non-psychological sociology (that of Durkheim, in fact) was over. If Auguste Comte is the founder of sociology, Tarde deserves credit for founding social psychology. (Intorno alla follia, p. 65)"

"While scientific discoveries, however great, may not have immediate repercussions on lifestyle and daily life, it is precisely technology that brings about immediate practical upheavals, usually considered positive. Science always changes ideas (of science itself or of culture), while technology has little impact on them and mostly only indirectly through the subversion of ordinary processes of existence. (Intorno alla follia, p. 70)"

"Frank Wedekind, actor and playwright, focuses his performances on sex and its perversions with the aim of exposing the hypocritical respectability of the bourgeoisie of the time. He proposes the morality of erotic impulse as an alternative to bourgeois morality. (Intorno alla follia, p. 79)"

"In 1950-51, Maxwell Jones invented, as an alternative to psychiatric hospitals, small therapeutic communities made up of patients and psychiatric and social workers, managed on the basis of collective participation and dynamics that were intended to bring out the abilities and qualities of each individual. The model of the extended family or village will go beyond psychiatry to apply to the problems of marginalization (from prisoners to drug addicts, the disabled, and the elderly). (La società o la fabbrica della follia, p. 131)"

"Falsification is a term that has entered everyday language. It was introduced by Karl Popper. Every scientific result must be questionable and, therefore, imperfect, the starting point for new experiments for progressive, but never definitive, perfection. Scientific research is the never-ending story of corrections to previously obtained data, a story that has the limits of Tantalus. The definitive is dogmatism; it can be asserted but not proven. The great system of Bacon and Galileo has been decisively destroyed, precisely in the method that founded it. (Requiem per la verità, p. 333-334)"

"Paul Feyerabend described science as a place of anarchy based not on logical-rational method but on protocols, the tools of the trade. Science is, therefore, a ‘relative’ discipline, capable of affirming truth only in relation to data conventionally compared: a truth-error. (Requiem per la verità, p. 334)"

"Sexuality is also dying. Once upon a time, the penis had great significance and could be an ideological foundation. Today, it is an appendage of the body without qualities. No plans are made for the penis anymore. It is an intriguing and dangerous organ. It can generate in an overpopulated world. Better the power of an engine. Impotence has never been as high as in the contemporary world. You are male because of your motorcycle, your tattoo, your abdominal muscles, and your beard; the penis has nothing to do with it. (Requiem per la verità, p. 335)"

"Vittorino Andreoli, I miei matti, Rizzoli, 2004."

"Vittorino Andreoli, L'uomo di vetro, Rizzoli, 2008."

"Vittorino Andreoli, Lettera a un adolescente, Rizzoli, 2004."

"Vittorino Andreoli, Preti di carta. Storie di santi ed eretici, asceti e libertini, esorcisti e guaritori, Piemme, 2010."

"Vittorino Andreoli, Preti. Viaggio fra gli uomini del sacro, Piemme, 2010. ISBN 9788856615197"

"Vittorino Andreoli, Tra un'ora, la follia, Rizzoli, 1999."

"Vittorino Andreoli, Un secolo di follia, Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, Milano, 1998. ISBN 88-17-11838-9"

"There is a psychological problem, not a legal one: you are mothers, and I don't need to tell you that those nine months are not just a matter of biological growth. There are thousands of studies that show that an emotional bond is established between the mother and the baby in her womb. [...] Women who ask others to carry on with the pregnancy for them? Horrible, Nazism, pure Nazism. You talk about the rights of adults and not the rights of children."

"(About Romanzo criminale) It contributes significantly to helping people not to think, to turn their attention to other things, and that is why the literary and then cinematic product is successful."

"We must give children back their playtime, not put smartphones in their cribs to distract ourselves. I am tech-savvy and in favor of technology, but not as a tool to relieve us of our responsibility for education. Andrea Camilleri wrote a wonderful book a few years ago, L'enciclopedia dei giochi per l'infanzia (“The Encyclopedia of Children's Games"), and Sicily, in its essence, could be a great pedagogical laboratory that bucks the trend. I say this about Sicily, but I could say it about Venice or Naples, about all those places that have an immense cultural heritage."

"The success of these television series, like all films about the mafia or evil in general, can be explained by one simple fact: they attract us because each of us is somehow drawn to evil, but they comfort us and lull us to sleep because they are fiction."

"We are experiencing a strange paradox: no one can say they are lonely anymore, yet we all, to some extent, feel and fear that we are."

"[...] it happened in Veneto, one of the most productive and wealthy areas of the country, in what has been called the engine of Italy. It did not happen in a suburb of the South, catalogued with the usual blah-blah. [...] It is proof that violence and prejudice against women have nothing to do with what the usual four sociologists say. Here we are in the heart of the Northeast. There are villas, well-kept gardens, a world we thought was privileged. And happy. But no. We have money, but not happiness. There are young people who cannot distinguish between feelings: how can you talk about love when you make forty phone calls to a girl?"

"They are wrong to always justify their children. Are the kids doing badly at school? Poor things. Do they get a failing grade? It's the teachers' fault. Do they fail? Appeal to the TAR. We have created children who do not know frustration, who do not know that ‘no’ also exists."

"I'm not a magician, but I don't think it all happened that night; outbursts only happen in comic books. You don't become a wolf overnight."

"People need guidance, and when they can't find it, they invent it. We need an instruction manual for life. But then the instructions are so simple and obvious that one wonders: why don't people follow them? We're not talking about Einstein's insights here."

"Instead of playing with toy trains in the attic, he plays with satellites orbiting the Earth. He's as brilliant as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Now it seems to me that something is making him a little too euphoric... But when a man, from Caesar onwards, passing through Napoleon, thinks he wants to take over the world, at that precise moment he becomes something I don't like: a dictator. Sooner or later, some actor will re-enact the scene of Charlie Chaplin kicking the globe, this time dressed not as Hitler but as Musk."

"(About the television program Belve) What's interesting about it? They've never invited me, and I would never go. Fagnani may be cute, but it's the fault of those who make the program that they have to look for the time you slipped on a banana peel: pure desperation. And teenagers see that we are ruthless. The trash TV we talked about years ago was the precursor to this; now it's animalistic television, in fact they're called “Belve” (Beasts) and “Iene” (Hyenas). There's nothing human about it."

"At the beginning of my career, I was too drastic and perhaps I didn't understand that there's an age for everything. I can afford to do certain things today because I see them from a higher hill, which allows me to broaden my view of things and bring a little more wisdom to bear. I am sometimes criticized for my excesses, my hyperactivity, and I think that criticism is fair, even if in the end it has brought good things, because otherwise I would be just one of many today. And then they accuse me of being blunt, of often taking too clear-cut positions: that too must come with life. I was born to have opinions, but at a certain age, you reach a point where you can speak your mind."

"I am afraid of the life my daughter will have. I can count young people who are great travelers on the fingers of one hand. No one cares that you went to Peru: they're much more interested in someone who takes a selfie with a heart-shaped pout. Today, artistic expression has been reduced to zero, unless you consider dipping a biscuit in your latte to be art, perhaps tagging the bakery so you can get free cappuccinos for the next three months."

"Rudeness in the age of the Internet and technology seems to know no bounds: everything seems to be permitted, respect for others is now an obsolete concept, a habit of old gentlemen resting in some country cemetery."

"Seduction begins with a mole, or rather a difference, something that distinguishes uniqueness. The actresses who have left an indelible mark on our memory are those who had some small flaw: feminine (and masculine) perfection leaves no impression and causes no disturbance; it may work for a photograph or an advertisement, but not for the construction of a myth."

"And if tomorrow our children can finally live in a world where a computer can be absolutely competitive with human intelligence, what will be their task and their destiny? To control megacomputers or be controlled by them?"

"A young talent, however innovative and creative they may be, if they remain isolated, even if connected to the world in a virtual way, will never be able to express themselves as those who have daily opportunities for real contamination."

"Parents need only ask themselves one simple question: if a boy or girl has never wanted for anything, how will they know the need to build something for their own future?"

"All children have talent, as Maria Montessori said, but not all are creative in the same way. To nurture their creativity, we need to make them confident in their abilities and not dependent on anything: a very difficult task for any educator."

"Digital technology is, and must remain, a tool, not an end in itself. With regard to the anthropological changes it constantly proposes, we need to speak words of wisdom and assert common sense. Technocrats are citizens like everyone else, not emperors of the new world."

"Friendship arises from life's opportunities, often from fate, but to become an indispensable feeling, it needs to be based on shared emotions, not emotional mediocrity."

"Friendliness applied to teaching has a relaxing effect on teachers, as it makes them feel magically irresponsible: authority is tiring and must be constantly reaffirmed, while this decadent form of equality requires no effort."

"Hold your head high and don't set limits on your ambition: limits are there to be overcome through passion and ability. It's not true that you have to accept yourself in life; rather, it's essential to know that you can improve yourself, whatever season you're going through."

"Each of us has the right to think that life is a long road, where you can and must try, make mistakes, and try again."

"The task of a psychiatrist is to accompany growth, to accompany pain and not erase it; if anything, they must try to ensure that the damage is not repeated, that it does not sprout a weed that infests one's entire existence."

"On the other hand, I have always thought that the profession of teacher is not and should not be a job for just anyone: a civilized community should know this."

"It is love that acts like a disease, but it works in reverse: it is good when it infects, it kills when it heals."

"New technologies bring with them new responsibilities for adults."

"The idea of limits—and its intrinsic, unfortunately persuasive, pedagogical force—was created to control people, to force them to grow up within a fence, to live in mortification: it constitutes the pedagogical path to frustration, a progressive annihilation of expectations and the most basic existential ambitions."

"Every magnificent man has a weakness that makes him precious."

"Thinking up and broadcasting a program means contributing to the construction of the culture and language of the younger generations, so television cannot exempt itself from playing a primary role in education."

"Those all-black clothes smack of defeat, they reek of collective mourning."

"The courage to educate, which is so greatly needed, lies precisely in the ability to take away, not to add."

"I have always thought that a nursery school works well when a child arrives in the morning clean and returns home in the afternoon dirty: it means that an emotion has passed through him that may have the taste of flour, the color of a marker, the shape of a magnificent plasticine sculpture."

"Indignation is a fierce picklock, a lethal weapon precisely because it arises from oppositional thinking, from special consideration, from an analytical evaluation of what one intends to criticize. It is not a bazooka, but a sharp and astonishing foil. It takes courage to be indignant."

"When art is purely an aesthetic exercise, it is boring and mediocre. Art, representing the human condition, must be disturbing."

"The idea that happiness is a ‘'ready-to-wear’' feeling, easy to find, generates a very low threshold of antibodies against boredom, induces emotional satiety, and this entails, in the medium term, an enormous risk for young people: emotional emptiness, sensory detachment from reality, the absolute denial of desire and passion. (p. 15)"

"Being free has a cost, but not being free costs even more. Being happy is demanding, but not being happy requires even more effort. (p. 42)"

"Every ideology or religious faith should be oriented toward the attainment of happiness, because it is the only way to allow for the hope that tomorrow will be better than today, and not just the same. Then there would not be so many followers and faithful ready to sacrifice themselves in the trenches of the “just cause”; churches would remain deserted and politics would be only an exercise in good government that would not make anyone's fortune. (p. 49)"

"Happiness lies in the courage to challenge oneself, to demand something from one's destiny without letting it run its course without our contribution. (p. 66)"

"Sex and sexuality have been tools through which man has sought happiness. Since common morality has allowed us to engage in sex without love, the belief has spread that it represents a piece of Eden within everyone's reach. In reality, the frantic search for pleasure at all costs has taken something away from the knowledge of our identity, precisely through the trivialization of eroticism, now reduced to free genital exercise. This has led to the erosion of a complex idea of human eros, which should not only not be flattened to the necessity of reproduction, but also not simplified and reduced to a mere meeting of cells, a banal hormonal issue. This is also because genital happiness is among the most ephemeral and leads to premature melancholy. (pp. 79-80)"

"However, there is a happiness linked to eroticism that does not necessarily involve the sexual act. The sense of pleasure and ecstasy, for example. Ecstasy evokes an extraordinary, astonishing image. It means ‘being outside’, the feeling one experiences when one manages to detach oneself without resorting to the repression of one's condition. (p. 81)"

"What is the meaning of ecstasy today? That is, sublimation, the archetype of wonder and enjoyment, the loss of self and rationality, freedom from the obligation to desire. Is there anyone who seeks all this, [...], without artifice, without elaborate recipes? (p. 82)"

"The most contradictory aspect of sex-centric culture is that it coexists with rationality, invokes it. The highest meaning of eroticism lies instead in the courage to detach oneself from one's surroundings, to abstract oneself, to elevate oneself to something else. Courage, a fundamental characteristic of ecstasy, lies in trusting oneself and one's senses, in letting go of all stubborn certainties. Happiness can only be found in unawareness and in the ecstasy that represents it supremely. (pp. 82-83)"

"You should learn that life, like love, is the only business whose balance sheet must end in the red: you have to give everything without calculating what you get in return."

"The body has its seasons, and the youthful ones are not necessarily better than the later ones."

"True travelers are not rich people but curious ones. They are not looking for comfort, but for novelty and surprises."

"My profession has taught me that the most difficult and improbable thing is to change. Yet the pursuit of happiness lies not in preserving, but in the courage to change the course of events."

"Happiness is like a train without a timetable: one comes along every now and then. You cannot predict its arrival, nor know when it will leave again. Your job is to go to the station."

"Illness is a communicative language, not an anarchic mass of crazy cells. Sometimes our body is dissatisfied with the life it leads and complains, tries to resist, criticizes the brain for its choices."

"Loneliness sometimes has unexpected, surprising colors and nuances. It is an empty room where your soul and your sensitivity resonate."

"Unhappiness is a swamp where only surrender and renunciation dwell."

"Never give up on the idea that happiness can't be found for you somewhere in the world. Don't even do it on the last day of your life, because there will always be someone close to you who needs to glimpse it in your eyes."

"I have never believed that a fat person is more unhappy than a thin person, unless they are on the payroll of a fashion company."

"Excessive protection prevents maturation, thus also blocking emotional development and happiness."

"A teacher does not train; they educate and elevate."

"I see a great desire for conformity around me. Young people have breathed this air and tend to reproduce what adults have been developing for some years now: an antagonism towards anything that smacks of risk. And the bad thing is that many young people are likely to apply this to their life plans."

"The puppy must learn that a rule is a rule and does not change according to the mood of the person holding the leash."

"Good ideas in education cost nothing, except the courage to have them and want to implement them."

"Music, as Maestro Claudio Abbado said, is not important for children to become musicians, but to teach them to listen and, consequently, to be listened to."

"The anthropological change in parents and grandparents therefore risks weighing on an already dramatic identity crisis among educators."

"Fill your computer screen with your own ideas, not those of others."

"[...] what the crisis teaches us is that now more than ever we need to go back to thinking, planning, and experimenting."

"In the United States, no economic magnate has ever left this world without first naming a foundation, university, museum, or theater after himself. Here, multimillionaires rush to hide their money in some tax haven to keep it available for their children (who will thus grow up to be boors and multimillionaires)."

"The first and most immediate response that a parent tends to give when faced with an episode of obvious intemperance on the part of their child is to defend them, contravening the most basic rule of educational common sense."

"Reins are not coercive tools, but fundamental pedagogical instruments, just like a rider's spurs. Reins control the most exuberant impulses, while spurs encourage the rider to dare to overcome obstacles, or rather, their own limits."

"Believing in oneself means having faith in others, and therefore in the possibility of relationships, love, help, and solidarity."

"As long as there is thought, there is dignity, and as long as there is the courage to be concerned, there is freedom."

"The ritual of giving is complex; sometimes it is done spontaneously, other times the gift masks a need for blackmail: giving is not free, it always requires something else in return."

"The teenager does not know who they have been and fears that they will not be able to become what they dream of being: self-awareness is the result of a long, complex confrontation between precarious stages of one's identity, and the group allows one to reflect oneself in others, to learn to recognize oneself and others."

"Mediocrity annihilates, flattens, makes everyone the same. Imagination and dreams highlight our inner resources, that is, our very secret of living."

"The word “[work] flexibility” has become synonymous with “exploitation.” The laws that created it have been used by public and private managers to have thousands of young workers at their disposal at low cost, who can be blackmailed on a daily basis simply by waving the specter of termination of their employment contract."

"School should teach us how to be alone, to live our passions, to put emotions at the center of our lives."

"I wonder: is it possible that no entrepreneur has ever reflected on the simple fact that temporary work produces a temporary identity, which is the opposite of the idea of a profession based on passion and merit, which is the only guarantee of quality performance and high productivity?"

"It is not television or the Internet that causes discomfort to children and adolescents, but rather a certain unwillingness on the part of adults to be there for them."

"If you give a child everything, you take away what is essential: desire, the fundamental feeling needed to build passion."

"Without culture, there is no freedom, no choice. There is no social growth, nor real well-being."

"Perhaps, in these years of prosperity, what has been most lacking are lofty figures and examples, such as the magnificent ones that past generations knew."

"Many of us thought, or deluded ourselves, that certain words, certain achievements, could be forever, imperishable, carved by our fathers on the stone of our most glorious history. One of these, the most important, we even took for granted: freedom."

"As long as Western man lived in poverty, he needed to know that he was not alone, and the network of relationships and mutual dependencies was a necessity; but as soon as development distributed some small economic privileges, complicity and solidarity—that is, the awareness that alone we are nothing—became obsolete words, symbols of submission, relics of a time that must be erased from the present, in which the most radical self-sufficiency is exalted. And with it, the never truly dormant sense of one's own superiority."

"This is why the manipulator, today as yesterday, must use simple but effective phrases, words that excite the gut and numb the freest minds."

"How can we fail to understand that when children are not taught from an early age to respect any rules, once they become adults they will suffer from a form of “psychological AIDS” that leads the individual to not recognize (not possessing “specific psychic antibodies”) any form of frustration because they are completely unprepared for failure?"

"I wonder what could be more demeaning for a father or mother than to abdicate their role and responsibilities as parents in order to avoid the headaches inherent in any educational effort."

"Identity, including national identity, is therefore a much broader and freer concept than what many today prefer to tailor for themselves and, claustrophobically, decline. It does not indicate rigidity, but a perpetual flow."

"Even today, for many people, their freedom is built on and based on the non-freedom of others: this has been the case for centuries when slavery was useful for economic development, and it continues to be the case today in new and more hypocritical forms, perpetuating the same arrogance and barbarism as always."

"The idea of taking one's own life is, paradoxically, a vital, slow, and progressive process, which is, all things considered, consistent, because it must lead the individual to accept that outcome as the only way out of their painful, intolerable condition. And to achieve this, strength, determination, perseverance, and also an enormous amount of courage are required."

"Better to find ourselves shipwrecked by passion than grounded and sated by too many comforting reasons."

"How can I now, in their classrooms, explain to these kids that no alarm clock is necessary because it is passion that will keep them awake? Why do so few parents or teachers make them understand this day after day? How can we fail to show our young people that only those who possess great passion can make the impossible possible?"

"Love, just like passion, is anticipation, unlimited trust, wonderful madness, a living and disruptive fire."

"Passion is not a linear feeling; it can never be represented by an algorithm or any artificial intelligence program."

"People don't meet, they choose each other all the time."

"I am repulsed by those who say that everything has a price: this is said by those who have sold themselves a thousand times and find it natural that others should do what they themselves have not shied away from. If Falcone and Borsellino had had a price, they would today be mediocre magistrates, alive but useless, not enduring beacons for consciences."

"Newspapers, websites, and television keep us up to date on events that seem to plunge our community back into a primitive age. Clearly, we have modernized, but we have not become civilized."

"Can't the toxic seed of today's unhappiness be traced back to that silent crowding, that fleeing/escaping, that loss of individual and collective identity? Doesn't a certain metropolitan frenzy resemble the anguished continuous escape of hamsters in a cage that is too small, forced to chase their own tails? Contemporary man tries in vain to escape so as not to have to recognize the shadow of his own soul, so as not to have to come to terms with his own unheard-of unhappiness."

"Just like boredom, melancholy is a fundamental human feeling, a companion on the road to solitude."

"To combat unhappiness, however, we need more than a simple wish, more than mere hope: we need effort, the effort to think about the new, the unseen; the courage to respond to the attraction of the unknown, the unpracticed."

"Sooner or later, everyone experiences the treacherous wind that tears their sails. The important thing is not to become that wind, not to legitimize the torn sail as a symbol of one's existence: this is the real blasphemy, the sacrilege against life."

"Gray is predictable, colors much less so."

"Boredom tells us that everyday life has become predictable, that a change is needed, a breath of fresh air. In short, boredom announces its opposite."

"The tendency to avoid experiences of fatigue and pain influences all forms of emotion. This leads straight to the most terrible form of anesthesia: indifference."

"Speed prevents us from recognizing ourselves, just like those trains that fly over beautiful countryside, preventing us from smelling its scents or recognizing its flowers."

"Freedom means doing different things together, the opposite of what happens in a hypermarket."

"In education, elegance is as fundamental as charisma."

"I, on the other hand, stayed. It's true that there is a certain age difference between me and my sisters, yet I couldn't free myself from that burden as they had done, without regrets, without guilt. I remained, tenacious or determined, but always with hatred; a hatred that I deluded myself into thinking was directed only at him, at the other, but which instead silently sank into me, too deep inside. I remained attached to that poisoned root as if my confusion had knocked me out. Then, as if my senses had suddenly awakened, I took revenge: I don't know exactly what for, since it was my weakness that made me stay. This compulsion was sick, I knew that all too well. It was a morbid and perverse bond that forced me to exaggerate just as my father had done with his sexual harassment. (p. 17)"

"I could only give in without mediation, so much had the smell of the crash taken hold of me, engulfed my mood, ruled my senses. I detested my inability to resist, yet I was flattered by his blatant and brutal desire to have me totally and immediately. I knew full well that if I had to fall, I might as well do so as disastrously as possible. And so it was. (p. 21)"

"I experienced acceptable melancholy, brief moments of predictable despair, long moments of narcosis. I had learned to love that losing restlessness, almost to take pleasure in it. Perhaps it was the pain, the detachment, and the squalor that I had needlessly experienced in the years that had passed so quickly that made me fear my evening solitude too little. (p. 25)"

"It has been raining for three days; I haven't worn my contact lenses in I don't know how long. I feel like I can't leave the room anymore. The cold and damp have clumped together this suspended time, squeezing out a melancholic juice: inevitably forcing me to think. I am curled up on the bed, wearing three sweaters on top of each other, to no avail. The rain has interrupted the road works that haunted me, deafening and exhausting like a discordant fanfare. Either the noise or the rain, either way boredom. Either way, the emptiness. An emptiness that is even understanding, never bitter. A complacent emptiness that has crept inside me as silently as poison. I have known it for a long time, it no longer surprises me. (p. 59)"

"I tried to do it on my own. For a while, I thought I had succeeded, and I was even pleased with myself. Then I felt myself slipping. I didn't fall, but, unseated, it was as if my foot had remained trapped in a stirrup and my body was forced to drag itself along, wounded and helpless. Every day my resistance crumbled more and more: I lived in the nightmare that this creaking would overwhelm what was left of me at any moment. (p. 66)"

"Marriage is the ultimate tribute to a loving union, but it also involves exercising understanding and adapting to the other person, that is, to their different individuality."

"Self-esteem is not built with parties and nice clothes, but in the difficult moments of life."

"Words can hurt or soothe; we should all learn to use them better."

"A pinch of jealousy can work wonders, but two can spell disaster."

"Maurizio Andolfi, Vittorino Andreoli, Edoardo Boncinelli, Eugenio Borgna, Bruno Callieri e Paolo Crepet, Perché siamo infelici, Einaudi, Torino, 2010. ISBN 978-88-06-20271-2"

"Mario Botta, Paolo Crepet e Giuseppe Zois, Dove abitano le emozioni. La felicità e i luoghi in cui viviamo, Einaudi, Torino, 2007. ISBN 978-88-06-19016-3"

"Paolo Crepet, Baciami senza rete. Buone ragioni per sottrarsi alla seduzione digitale, Mondadori, Milano, 2016. ISBN 978-88-04-66881-7"

"Paolo Crepet, Cuori violenti. Viaggio nella criminalità giovanile, Feltrinelli, Milano, 1995. ISBN 88-07-17005-1"

"Paolo Crepet, Dannati e leggeri, Einaudi, Torino, 2004. ISBN 88-06-17246-8"

"Paolo Crepet, Educare oggi, Enea, Milano, 2012. ISBN 978-88-9557-291-8"

"Paolo Crepet, Elogio dell'amicizia, Einaudi, Torino, 2012. ISBN 978-88-06-21260-5"

"Paolo Crepet, Gli incontri sbagliati, Mondadori, Milano, 2005. Supplemento a Donna Moderna."

"Paolo Crepet, I figli non crescono più Einaudi, Torino, 2005. ISBN 88-06-16979-3"

"Paolo Crepet, Il caso della donna che smise di mangiare, Einaudi, Torino, 2015. ISBN 978-88-06-21262-9"

"Paolo Crepet, Il coraggio. Vivere, amare, educare, Mondadori, Milano, 2017. ISBN 978-88-04-68186-1"

"Paolo Crepet, Impara a essere felice, Einaudi, Torino, 2013. ISBN 978-88-06-21261-2"

"Paolo Crepet, Impara a essere felice, Einaudi, Torino, 2015. ISBN 978-88-06-22466-0"

"Paolo Crepet, L'autorità perduta. Il coraggio che i figli ci chiedono, Einaudi, Torino, 2012. ISBN 978-88-06-21580-4"

"Paolo Crepet, L'eros, Mondadori, Milano, 2005. Supplemento a Donna Moderna."

"Paolo Crepet, La gioia di educare, Einaudi, Torino, 2008. ISBN 978-88-06-19497-0"

"Paolo Crepet, Le dimensioni del vuoto. I giovani e il suicidio. Feltrinelli, Milano, 2000. ISBN 88-07-81586-9"

"Paolo Crepet, Le malattie della disoccupazione. Le condizioni fisiche e psichiche di chi non ha lavoro, Edizioni Lavoro, Roma, 1990. ISBN 88-7910-443-8"

"Paolo Crepet, Libertà, Mondadori, Milano, 2019. ISBN 978-88-04-71872-7"

"Paolo Crepet, Naufragi. Tre storie di confine, Einaudi, Torino, 1999. ISBN 88-06-15338-2"

"Paolo Crepet, Non mi chiedere di più, Barney Narrazioni, Siena, 2014. ISBN 978-88-98693-04-7"

"Paolo Crepet, Non siamo capaci di ascoltarli. Riflessioni sull'infanzia e l'adolescenza, Einaudi, Torino, 2001. ISBN 88-06-15785-X"

"Paolo Crepet, Passione, Mondadori, Milano, 2018. ISBN 978-88-04-70533-8"

"Paolo Crepet, Sfamiglia. Vademecum per un genitore che non si vuole rassegnare, Einaudi, Torino, 2009. ISBN 978-88-06-19842-8"

"Paolo Crepet, Solitudini. Memorie di assenze, Feltrinelli, Milano, 1997. ISBN 88-07-17022-1"

"Paolo Crepet, Sull'amore. Innamoramento, gelosia, eros, abbandono. Il coraggio dei sentimenti, Einaudi, Torino, 2010. ISBN 978-88-06-20300-9"

"Paolo Crepet, Voi, noi. Sull'indifferenza di giovani e adulti, Einaudi, Torino, 2003. ISBN 978-88-06-1666-94"

"Paolo Crepet, Francesco Florenzano, Il rifiuto di vivere. Anatomia del suicidio, Editori Riuniti, Roma, 1989. ISBN 88-359-3307-2"

"There is a shy Ciriaco De Mita. And also a grumpy De Mita. And then there is the introverted De Mita. He is not easy to get along with. And sometimes he is suspicious, very suspicious. [...] He is someone who does not mold himself to those he is dealing with in order to gain their approval, but who likes to speak plainly and tell you what he thinks to your face. In short, he is tough. Cunning and tough. And sometimes mean."

"With your departure, that world has ended completely. For a week now, I have been trying not to think that you, dear Alessandro, have gone who knows where. And I confess that I am terrified of dreaming about you. But, my beautiful son, my beautiful boy, I will always welcome you with open arms. [...] I love you. Giampaolo, your dad."

"The hardest [defeat] came in 2014 when Matteo Renzi's government, which had been in office for a few weeks, dismissed the heads of all state-owned companies. At that time, you were the CEO of the large Finmeccanica group. You knew everything about that group because you had been working there for 12 years, climbing the ladder step by step. And, together with a small group of young executives, you had steered it with a steady hand. You never talked to me about your downfall, but I could sense your bitterness mixed with anger."

"Giorgio Bocca can be summed up in a few words. He was a great journalist, but also highly partisan and prone to serious errors. We worked together at the same newspapers, starting with Il Giorno and then spending many years at La Repubblica and L'Espresso, but we were never friends. Bocca was a complex man: he did not like competitors or people who contradicted him. We fought many battles against each other, but there is no point in dwelling on them. Today, Giorgio is gone. I don't know if Italy will miss him, as some of his colleagues at La Repubblica say, but he will certainly leave a void... which I, however, do not regret."

"The left wing party has always told lies, starting with the invasion of Hungary and continuing through the Popular Front campaign. All parties lie, but some more than others. The Italian Communist Party, however, has always lied."

"A yellow-green government? It is not a trivial center-right government, but a government of terrorists. A terrorist government that wants to destroy everything, wipe out Italy and its democracy. We are on the brink of an abyss."

"Reporter: If you waited a little longer to write, everything would have disappeared. Some say that oblivion is better... Giampaolo Pansa: Trouble, trouble. What is the point of living if you give up on the truth? The history of a country is made up of those who fought wrong wars and sought absurd goals. We must accept this and honor those who suffered, not necessarily sharing their memory, but accepting it, giving it citizenship. [...] The left always brings up this anti-fascism. Berlusconi like Mussolini, the authoritarian state imposed by Mediaset... Sovereign lies. From the right, you can reflect on that yourselves. We should start again from this mutual recognition of the public right to one's own memory."

"Words can turn into stones, stones into bullets. It has already happened: Italy was held captive by terrorism for almost twenty years. It is a danger that could return, and I would not want Grillo, even against his plans and programs, to become the vehicle for this terrible evil."

"Someone said of Sergio Mattarella: in politics, he is tenacious and persistent, like a falling drop of water."

"When I hear Grillo shouting, Italians, it sends a chill down my spine, because it reminds me of someone who shouted the same word with the same emphasis from a balcony in Palazzo Venezia."

"(About Mario Capanna) In short, a leader of protest: without restraint, but also without the protection of party apparatus, always forced to be at the forefront, to make mistakes, and to pay the price personally."

"(To q:it:Angelo D'Orsi who criticized him for the absence of any footnotes in his revisionist texts on Fascism) You sell 2,000 copies and I sell 40,000... do you want footnotes too?"

"Fabio Fazio}} He too is red, a cherry red that is unmatched even on the vermilion Rai Tre. But he loves to play the opposite role. That of the innocent little priest without a parish, friend to all and enemy to none. In reality, in today's Rai, fragmented into sultanates, there is no one more partisan than him. His hand is wrapped in gray velvet, but inside he hides a poisoned stiletto. It is with this blade that Fazio practices inflexible censorship. [...] Fazio had invited Pietro Ingrao [...]. In a moment of memory loss, the old communist leader claimed that the Italian Communist Party had strongly distanced itself from the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. A complete falsehood, as history teaches us. But Fazio and the invited audience were careful not to object. Not even a murmur, a cough, or a sidelong glance. Why? Edmondo Berselli, a free-thinking intellectual who recently passed away, explained it this way in L'Espresso: “Because at that moment, they were celebrating the apotheosis of an impossible communism, a utopia, a great dream, an assault on heaven. And so much the worse for the facts, if the facts interrupt the emotions.” Fazio is not interested in the truth of the facts. Especially when he paints a picture of Italian history and reality that clashes with his narrow political horizon."

"Satire is banned on Rai, except when it is directed against Il Caimano, hated by the red sultans. These are the masters of the many talk shows controlled by the guerrilla left. Those who, with public money, taxes and license fees paid by us foolish taxpayers, have given themselves a fanatical mission: to send Berlusconi and the center-right to hell. [...] They know they have a militant audience behind them and they excite them in many ways. [...] They move like the Khmer Rouge in Pol Pot's Cambodia. They don't cut off their opponents' heads, but they attack with the same rapid brazenness, provoking the enemy and launching surprise attacks. “Come away with me” is the clearest example of this tactic. [...] The story is an example of what Italy has become. A Babel where only the destroyers are in charge. While the Casta fills its mouth with the word “legality” and at the same time destroys it. Like the double-dealing Fini. He will have the kiss of Fazio and Saviano, even though he is glued to a chair he no longer deserves."

"I was outraged and frightened by the assault on the Senate, which saw a team of hooded men break through the first entrance. The Senate, like the Chamber of Deputies, belongs to all Italians. And I am appalled by the question posed by La Stampa on Thursday. It said: “Must we respect the Senate? Even if Schifani is there?” This small, not very ironic detail is enough to suggest that the left is no longer playing with fire, but with death."

"Today's street protests are not being led by students. They are being led by another privileged class: university professors and researchers. They do not want to lose their privileges, which are considerable for the former and modest for the latter. That is what matters to them, not the comatose state of Italian universities."

"There are no valid reasons for such chaos, which has a very clear political objective: to bring down the Berlusconi government. Perhaps this will not be a difficult task, given the comatose state of the executive. But even if it succeeds, it will not erase the hypocrisy of too many media outlets. Newspapers and television are mostly on the side of the protesters."

"(About the daily newspaper la Repubblica}} A guerrilla paper that goes into battle every day to destroy Berlusconi."

"The news program Sky TG24 is sick with anti-Cav sectarianism. It seems to me that it has become Murdoch's Telekabul. A twin of Tg3, Rai's red news program. Strange? Not really. The owner of Sky, the Australian Rupert Murdoch, the Shark, does not like Berlusconi at all. And since the beginning of time, the donkey has always been tied where the master wants. Especially if it is a television donkey."

"Gianfranco Fini, the most surprising chameleon in the national political zoo. He owed everything to Berlusconi, starting with his escape from the post-fascist ghetto. Yet he tried to kill him. With a continuous guerrilla war, which began immediately after he joined the People of Freedom party. It is pointless for Fini's squires to keep repeating that Gianfry was expelled by Berlusconi. Italians are not stupid."

"We are used to saying that we must defend ourselves in trials and not from trials. Yet I would like to see how the many politicians who preach this would behave."

"We are a patient and hardworking people. Yet it is wise not to forget the old adage: sometimes even ants, in their own small way, get pissed off."

"I have learned that judges should not be criticized. They are a very powerful force and jealous of their autonomy."

"How does a police officer act? When he encounters someone breaking the law, he catches them and throws them in jail. So that they dare not disobey the law again. The Gendarmes of Memory behave in the same way. They consider themselves the sole guardians of the only authorized and legitimate account of the internal conflict that bloodied Italy between the fall of 1943 and April 1945. This then led to a harsh reckoning with the defeated fascists. And anything that contradicts the narrative they defend must be refuted. Or, better still, silenced, ignored, erased. (p. VII)"

"There is no doubt that without the PCI there would have been no partisan war. And the Resistance would have been a modest undertaking. But with the PCI, the war of liberation also became a revolutionary war for the conquest of power in Italy. And this subversive project authorized a succession of errors, lies, intrigues, abuses, crimes, and mysteries: all rubbish hidden by a historiography subservient to the interests of that party. (p. IX)"

"Italy these days is no longer a normal country. In normal countries, acts of violence such as those committed against the bookshop in Bassano [the locks on the three entrances were sabotaged and blocked] do not happen. And if they do, they are usually severely punished. As deserved by those who arrogate to themselves the right to do anything in the name of a totalitarian perversion that authorizes them to be arrogant towards those who think differently. But in our country, the number one rule, which states that those who offend must be punished, is hardly ever applied anymore. (pp. 54-55)"

"Many red partisan bands emerged with the aim of suppressing members of the resistance front parties. The reason for this is clear: those who were not communists but were active in parties such as the Christian Democrats, for example, could become new adversaries. And this new enemy would certainly have opposed the PCI's revolutionary strategy and its plan to seize power in newly liberated Italy. These were, therefore, targeted political crimes. Aimed at terrorizing opponents within the anti-fascist alliance and destroying their ability to resist the communists' plans. (pp. 200-201)"

"[According to the left] Revisionism is as dangerous as cyanide. But if it is practiced by the left, it becomes an aspirin that must be swallowed because it will only give us good health. This is the fake revisionism of the usual suspects. It certainly has not won. And I don't think it ever will. (p. 328)"

"A friend asked me, “Do you have any regrets?” I replied, “Absolutely not. Also because I have discovered a humanity I did not know. What's more, I have understood what disease is undermining the Oak.” The evil, which is no longer obscure to me, is the fear of having to reflect on oneself and re-read one's political history. And, consequently, the refusal to discuss with those who force you to show your cards and stop playing a reticent and timid game. (p. 342)"

"Istria, Dalmatia, Fiume, Pola, Zara, the exodus of 300,000 who did not want to live under Tito, their arrival in Italy amid insults and spittle from activists organized by the PCI... It is useless to talk about these tragedies to the ‘guardians of memory’. They only give the green light to memories that suit them. Instead, they prefer to keep the memory that causes them difficulty locked away in the guardhouse of silence, to silence it, to pretend it does not exist. (p. 365)"

"This applies to young journalists. Not all of them, of course, but many. They are ignorant. They may be intelligent, but they are ignorant. In the sense that school has taught them little in recent years. And they have learned even less on their own. (p. 28)"

"Ah, objective journalism! How many times have we deceived readers by waving this phantom flag. (p. 49)"

"Not all Italian journalists lie. But some of us, in different eras, have always lied. We lied on behalf of the newspaper owner, especially when the owner's number one interest was not to sell news. We lied out of deference to the ruling political power. We lied to favour the opposition. (p. 51)"

"Well, I must confess that I haven't read all of Giampaolo Pansa's books thoroughly because I feel nauseous when I pick them up, but I know more or less how they are perceived by those who read them. We cannot get inside Giampaolo Pansa's head, so we cannot know whether this man, who used to be a left-winger, had a change of heart at some point and really said to himself: the defeated deserve to be remembered... an injustice has been done in Italy... Whether he realised the effect his books were having, or whether he realised it but cynically carried on because they made him a lot of money. We can no longer say; certainly the books are despicable, not because they may contain inaccuracies [...]. But I would not be at all surprised if these books only reported authentic episodes, because it has always been known in Italy that obviously anything could have happened in the Resistance. These are things that even in the 1950s the fascists, who incidentally were perfectly free in a democracy to publish books in which they recounted these things, so everyone already knew about them even before. [...] So, dramatic episodes? Tragic? Crimes? Crimes committed by partisans with the authorisation of the Allied authorities, who generally told the partisans to “clean up”? Who can say it doesn't matter? Of course, it is always a tragedy, but if we look at the crimes committed by the liberators, then what? The armies that marched up the peninsula committed crimes against the civilian population, against prisoners of war... Ever since they landed in Sicily, and yet the people of Italian cities welcomed them jubilantly, happy that they had arrived. So, the problem is that you can always find individual episodes in any context to put anyone in a good or bad light: what matters is who was on the right side and who was on the wrong side. And I challenge anyone today who turns up their nose at the partisans or has Pansa's books on their bookshelf in plain view to say: 'But would you have preferred the others to win? Would you want to live in a world where Hitler had won? And where the gas chambers would have continued to operate? Really? If you tell me that sincerely, I'm fine with it, okay. But I want to see which readers of Pansa's books would answer yes to that question."