F. Sionil Jose Quotes & Sayings

In the Western tradition, the first writers were teachers and historians, vastly traveled, who spiced their reports with fantasies. They were also poets who sang and entertained prince and pauper. — F. Sionil Jose

For them who delay aging, who infuse decrepit bodies with youth and beauty - they must rejoice in the fullness of their deeds. — F. Sionil Jose

It is what one really owns in the end, a name.
-Istak — F. Sionil Jose

Never, never hide your pain, scream as if you are dying so you will not be harmed more. Never, never hide your poverty, too. The worst enemies of the poor are the poor themselves. And never, never appear that you are virtuous and without sin. It it is the virtuous who have many enemies because for they shame the many without virtue. — F. Sionil Jose

When I wake up every morning, I thank God for the new day. — F. Sionil Jose

Absences can also make one forget. Absence dulls the memory and banishes those who are precious from the mind. — F. Sionil Jose

In death, all men are brothers.
-Istak — F. Sionil Jose

At 86, I can easily look back to the last eight decades. Though memory often fails me now, so many images of the past are still clearly polished, and I can yet recall not just an abiding sense of place, but the keen smells, the sensory responses to the events of that past. — F. Sionil Jose

Tourists as well as natives want to see cultural achievements - whether it's the Banaue Terraces, the old churches or museums. — F. Sionil Jose

The Philippines just need 100 youth to stand up for their country — F. Sionil Jose

But you must be sure of what you want the land for. And as for your tenants, if they don't own the land, don't expect them to make sacrifices. It never works, you know. Besides, the transition shouldn't create dislocations. It isn't easy to shift from agriculture to industry. — F. Sionil Jose

She was benediction, a touch of faith, life itself coursing through my veins collapsed in age and turmoil, and to my fatigued and weary heart, a new and vibrant throb. — F. Sionil Jose

I regret that I have not written more, shouted louder, and acted out my beliefs. — F. Sionil Jose

I was shocked at the revelation of her vaulting ambition, her greed. I should have loathed her or, knowing what kind of a person she was, I should have realized the futility of any personal attachment, the impossibility of its maturing into something warm, human enduring. By then, I had known a bit of the prostitute's psychology, the ruthlessness which marked her relationship with men,
but I ignored these. — F. Sionil Jose

Industrialization starts with the formation of capital - it does not matter how. It can be created by saving, by the state enforcing its will on the people, by the very rich themselves. — F. Sionil Jose

We go from one darkness to another and in between, the hidden light of the world, of knowledge. We open our eyes and in this circle of light, we see not just ourselves but others who are our likenesses. This light tells us all men are brothers, but even brothers kill one another, and it is in this light where all this happens. But living in this dazzling light does not blind us to what lies beyond the darkness from where we emerged and where we are going. It is faith which makes our journey possible though it be marred by the unkindness of men, their eternal faulting, before we pass on to another darkness. — F. Sionil Jose

Cultural values are, in themselves, neutral as well as universal, and so much depends on how individuals or ethnic groups use them. Values are influenced by so many factors such as geography, climate, religion, the economy and technology. — F. Sionil Jose

Time will come that all that we love, we will eventually lose, and all that we hate we will eventually face. — F. Sionil Jose

What most readers do not realize is that it takes a particular genius to write funny, to satirize. — F. Sionil Jose

We are shallow because our media are so horribly shallow. Every morning, I peruse the papers, and there is so little to read in them. It is the same with radio - all that noise, that artifice. — F. Sionil Jose

Japan is very cosmopolitan - it values its origins, but a world view hovers above this narrow perspective. The interest of the Japanese in their folk culture is transcendental. — F. Sionil Jose

It is the heart which dictates, which rules, which lets us live and die. — F. Sionil Jose

Self-respect, the value of 'face,' is universal but is most pronounced in China, then in Japan where the Confucian ethic is most influential. — F. Sionil Jose

When you love someone, that love has no limit, no measure, because you know in your deepest being that when that love demands sacrifice, you will give it without question. You will not look for reasons, for justification - the act of giving, of sacrificing, is a natural compulsion, like breathing, and it will, in the end, surprise you because you did it without second thoughts. — F. Sionil Jose

Ninoy Aquino was a friend; I knew his faults, which were outweighed by his virtues. — F. Sionil Jose

Poetry is emotion, passion, love, grief - everything that is human. It is not for zombies by zombies. — F. Sionil Jose

There is nothing like the land you belong to claiming you back. But everywhere the earth is the same.
-Old David — F. Sionil Jose

For decades, as literary editor, I have followed the growth of our creative writing in English. In my Solidaridad Bookshop, half of my stock consists of Filipino books written in English and in the native languages. — F. Sionil Jose

Shit!" I shouted at him. "Now listen, my friend. The youth have no role. They have no jobs. They have no money. They are not in power and they do not make decisions. If there is going to be a war, they will be dumped into the army. And they will be killed like young men everywhere have been killed - whether or not they believe in the war. Having no role is their role. — F. Sionil Jose

I wish I could be honest and true, but truth as I see it is not something abstract, a pious generality
It is justice at work, righteous, demanding, disciplined, sincere and unswerving; otherwise, it is not, it cannot be truth at all. — F. Sionil Jose

What is needed in the theater, in fact for all our art forms, is a vibrant critical tradition. — F. Sionil Jose

The mind can also be kind and does blot out those episodes of our existence that we can't erase in our consciousness. — F. Sionil Jose

It has always been the many faceless men, those foot soldiers, who have suffered most, who have died. It is they who make a nation. — F. Sionil Jose

In the visual arts, particularly painting, I distrust all those abstractions, those artificial constructions. I have a very simple way of judging them: if I can do them, they are not art. — F. Sionil Jose

I envy those Hindus and Buddhists who have in their religion philosophy and ancestor worship which build in the believer a continuity with the past, and that most important ingredient in the building of a nation - memory. — F. Sionil Jose

Indeed time has that ultimate capacity to render the passions of the past when recalled in the present as no more than grandiloquent gestures. — F. Sionil Jose

Was he the epitome of virtue because he was poor? How had it been in the village? There was foul gossip and cussedness anywhere in the world where small men had to think of their stomachs first before thinking about others.
-Istak — F. Sionil Jose

The heart of the theater is the play itself, how it dramatizes life to make it meaningful entertainment. To achieve depth and universality, the playwright must subject himself to intense critique, to know human character and behavior, and finally to construct art from the most mundane of human experience. — F. Sionil Jose

This is the harsh truth about us: not only do Filipinos ignore books, literature - we do not understand how important the arts are - not just to those of us who work at it, but to the nation as a whole. — F. Sionil Jose

To fund major cultural efforts, we must not rely alone on government and foundation patronage; if the farmer can spend for beer, he can pay for good entertainment which he can understand, which he can identify with and which will fortify his spirit. — F. Sionil Jose

But when will Filipinas ever be free from its leaders who are wealthy and crooked, in whom we have put so much trust?
-The Cripple — F. Sionil Jose

No stranger can come battering down my door and say he brings me light. This I have within me.
-Istak — F. Sionil Jose

Ubi boni, malum prosperat (Where good men are silent, evil prospers) — F. Sionil Jose

Poetry, fiction as novels or short stories - these are autonomous as created by their authors. They should stand on their own, like pieces of furniture that should be judged as to their usefulness, elegance. — F. Sionil Jose

But a nation which has people who can think, the nation already has strength. It is the mind which rules, not instinct or habit. — F. Sionil Jose

While violence is necessary, it is not the only instrument for change. There are others just as good. But you must accept violence- you cannot begin to build until you have destroyed. You don't know love until you have hated. — F. Sionil Jose

The Japanese bureaucracy is unique. It is also very powerful, although it is now the object of so much criticism. Many of Japan's brightest made it a pillar of strength and continuity. — F. Sionil Jose

But like my father, I have not done anything. I could not, because I am me, because I died long ago. — F. Sionil Jose

Life is worth living really but only if we believe it is, if we believe further that life is eternal not because the tissues last forever, but because the imagination never dies — F. Sionil Jose

Perhaps, this is what love has always been, whether it is for a woman of for a cause
the readiness to give and not ask for anything in return, the unquestioning willingness to lose everything, even if that loss is as something as precious as life itself. — F. Sionil Jose

It was in the sugar hacienda in Negros, Panay and in Central Luzon where I saw the injustices heaped upon the sugar workers, particularly the sacadas, or seasonal workers. — F. Sionil Jose

You perhaps know me as a novelist. Literature is one of the arts - in fact, the noblest of the arts. That is not my opinion; it was first expressed by the ancients. As art, literature has many similarities with the other art forms. — F. Sionil Jose

How can we build trust among our own people? How can we make them confident of themselves and their countrymen so that they will not sell their souls for a few silver dollars?
-The Cripple — F. Sionil Jose

All dictators, the rich and famous, to the lowest security guard who holds a gun, easily forget that power is transitory. — F. Sionil Jose

A revolution does not have to eat its children. In fact, it is those who are in power who could very well initiate revolutions. Let us not be old-fashioned and think only of armed uprisings of minorities as revolutions. Any movement that seeks to overhaul established attitudes is a revolution. — F. Sionil Jose

The influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom, well into the future. It is they who shape and enrich the minds of the young, who touch their hearts and souls. It is they who shape a nation's future. — F. Sionil Jose

I believe in humanity - not just you or Mother, but all mankind. Do I sound like a preacher or a cheap politician making a pretty speech? This is not what I intend to do ...
I believe in life, that it is sweet and that, for all its occasional bitterness, we-man, that is-are headed toward something better - fulfillment. There is much shame, however, and so much hypocrisy around us and these inhibit our fulfillment as human beings. — F. Sionil Jose

We do not conquer life, no one can conquer what one cannot define, but at least it is there and it is ours to shape and to possess fully, with all the senses working, with all the powers of the heart surging, as we search for the answer to the greatest riddle of them all- death, the ultimate end, the enemy of all men, the final quietus to the noblest of emotions, the tenacity and ethereal creativity of faith. — F. Sionil Jose

Just because you have so much to give does not mean that they'll all be accepted. There's more to giving than just giving. — F. Sionil Jose

I wish I were not the me that I know, that I be some unfeeling hunk of plastic, designed to take all punishment but also durable and almost indestructible. — F. Sionil Jose

Virtue and wealth seldom go together. The greatest criminals are also the wealthiest men."
-The Cripple — F. Sionil Jose

We write from life and call it literature, and literature lives because we are in it. — F. Sionil Jose

I was born in an Ilokano village called Cabugawan. Most of the houses in it were roofed with thatch, pan-aw, a species of wild grass. — F. Sionil Jose

We are shallow because we are 'mayabang,' ego driven, and do not have the humility to understand that we are only human, much too human to mistake knowledge for wisdom. — F. Sionil Jose

Professional societies are sooner or later fractured by the ego of their leaders. Everyone wants to be president, chairman, CEO; no one wants to be a mere follower. — F. Sionil Jose

But all men die
as anonymously as they had lived, no matter what their achievements.
-Istak — F. Sionil Jose

From antiquity, Latin died but is still studied in seminaries and elite universities. So did Sanskrit in Asia. iI was replaced by Pali, but even Pali died, too. Linguists say the only ancient language which was resuscitated from the grave was Hebrew of Israel. — F. Sionil Jose

Past middle age, some friends suggested that I should have my eyebags removed, the deepening creases on my face stretched. I often examined my face in the mirror, imagining how I'd look if I followed the suggestion. I decided to retain the old mug. I was too familiar and comfortable with it. And the final hindrance: the cost. — F. Sionil Jose

I have been blinded, as many of us have been blinded by our needs. I had thought of only my family
this was the limit to my responsibility, and therefore, my vision.
-Istak — F. Sionil Jose

Language as a communication tool is the primary element from which literature is created. Even in pre-literate societies, it exists as songs, riddles, or epics that are chanted. — F. Sionil Jose

I write to please myself - of course, that is a given. But beyond this reach for pleasure, I know that I write for my countrymen, that they may be lifted from apathy and ignorance. I write because of a compulsion to make something out of the nothing that is my own life. — F. Sionil Jose

We must respect courage wherever we encounter it.
-Tom — F. Sionil Jose

Who then lives? Who then triumphs when all others have succumbed? — F. Sionil Jose

I can imagine the writers of China, England and France, crippled and unsure of themselves when they feel that the ghosts of Confucius, Mencius, Chaucer and Shakespeare and Victor Hugo are looking over their shoulders. — F. Sionil Jose

You should live in a manner that should enable you to devote time to writing and contemplation. As is often said, the writer is at work even when he is simply looking out the window. — F. Sionil Jose

Forgive those who are ignorant.
-Bit-tik — F. Sionil Jose

If we could only learn to trust one another
Tagalogs trusting Ilokanos, Pampangos trusting Tagalogs.
-The Cripple — F. Sionil Jose

To THOSE who want to lift this nation from the dungheap of history, the past does not matter - only the present, the awareness of the deadening rot which surrounds and suffocates us, and what we must do to vanquish it. — F. Sionil Jose

I do not want to be bored listening to music that is muffled and known only to the poet himself. — F. Sionil Jose

None will thank me for this, nor anyone will remember.
-Istak — F. Sionil Jose

Now listen ... You are young and you don't know many things, but do remember this: you are alone in this earth. Alone. You must act for yourself and no other. Kindness is not appreciated anymore, nor friendship. Think of yourself before you think of others. It's a cruel world and you have to be hard and cruel, too. They will strangle you if you don't strangle them first. Trust no one but your judgment
and even then, don't trust too much. — F. Sionil Jose

You will be surprised how much punishment the human body can take, if there is enough will - or faith. — F. Sionil Jose

I am for poetry that is admired by peasant and aristocrat alike. — F. Sionil Jose

Why do you butcher your carabao and feed a throng because your son is getting a wife?" Father always blustered to them who come asking for loans. But always, in the end, the tenants got the money
what they needed for a "decent" funeral, a baptism, a wedding. And as their debts piled up, they promised, "Next harvest will be good ... — F. Sionil Jose

All her life, she was used to being pampered, to having everything she desired, but the things that she valued were never those that could be bought but those small tokens of truth and dogged fidelity which she, herself, could not give to anyone. — F. Sionil Jose

Some lucky people can be funny without half trying because they actually look funny, because acting funny is in their bones - fun as funny, not funny as crude slapstick. — F. Sionil Jose

I said that if I were an industrialist or entrepreneur, I would invest in agriculture-based enterprises, for there is so much that can be done in manufacturing, in food preservation. — F. Sionil Jose

[Of the Bagos:] Like the Moros in the south, they are our brothers. We must recognize their belongingness to Filipinas, their willingness to fight for her.
-The Cripple — F. Sionil Jose

I was a senior high school student at the Far Eastern University when the war with Japan broke out in 1941. — F. Sionil Jose

Life is always sad. That's what makes suicide so tempting because life is all that we really have and haven't. Death makes us equals, too, because the foul and the good all die. The past, the present, and the future-what escape is there from these? None-and yet sometimes we are life's happy victims. — F. Sionil Jose

We must know our own roles. We should also know the roles that others play, and the rules such roles follow. In this manner, social harmony is maintained. It is when we overstep our roles, or act without knowing them, that social anarchy ensues. — F. Sionil Jose

The Japanese covet important symbols - their heroic past as enshrined in Yasukuni, the Imperial family which has never been sullied by scandal. — F. Sionil Jose

Contemplation is a luxury of the middle class, the very rich. — F. Sionil Jose

Literature suffers because writers give their books to colleagues who will then write glowing reviews or saccharine introductions. — F. Sionil Jose

Sometimes we have to lie so that we do not needlessly hurt others. The important thing is that we are honest with ourselves. That we know how to bend without breaking ourselves. -Crepusculo Lepidoptera — F. Sionil Jose

We will love her, protect her, all of us
Bisaya, Tagalog, Ilokano, so many islands, so many tribes
because if we act as one, we will be strong and so will she be. Alone you will fall prey to every marauder that passes by. I am not asking that you love Filipinas. I am asking that you do what is right, what is duty ...
-The Cripple — F. Sionil Jose

We cannot be rooted in the past forever. We must not be sentimental. — F. Sionil Jose

Of course, we are all egoists. Egoism is so much a part of our humanity. — F. Sionil Jose

We compromise ourselves the day we are born. If we are looking for the original sin, there it is- our incapacity to live honestly with ourselves because we are human, because we are shackled by custom, by obligations and we accept compromise only in the light of our conscience, answerable as we are only to ourselves. — F. Sionil Jose

Always remember: the alleviation of poverty is never a political or economic issue - it is moral. — F. Sionil Jose