What I write, knowing that it’s bad, might also offer a few moments of distraction from worse things to another sad or wounded soul. That is enough, or rather, it isn’t but it nonetheless helps in some way, and that’s how it is with life. Fernando Pessoa
Tag: fernando pessoa
‘actual sensations less intensely than the sensation itself’
“I have always experienced actual sensations less intensely than the sensation of having those sensations. I have always found my awareness of suffering more painful than the suffering itself.” Fernando Pessoa
‘to speak is to show too much consideration for others’
“To speak is to show too much consideration for others. The fish and Oscar Wilde both died by the mouth.” Fernando Pessoa
‘the human soul is inevitably the victim of the painful surprise’
“The human soul is inevitably the victim of the pain of the painful surprise provoked even by the most unsurprising of events” Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet, 20th century poetry
‘devoid of anyone of both an intellect and a heart’
“The generation to which I belong to was born into a world devoid of certainty for anyone possessed of both an intellect and a heart. The destructive work of previous generations meant that the world into which we were born had no security to offer us as regards religion, no anchor as regards morality, no…
‘…[this] isolated life, which became more and more isolated, the more I came to know myself’
“I always lived in isolated life, which became more and more isolated the more I came to know myself.” -Fernando Pessoa
‘…I would like my role in the world to be to educate others, to feel more and more for themselves…’
“More than anything, I would like my role in the world to be to educate others to feel more and more for themselves and less and less according to the dynamic law of collectivity.” Fernando Pessoa
‘…not even that of enjoying life’
“We are, in general, creatures who have never learned an art or a skill, not even that of enjoying life.” Fernando Pessoa
‘all I ask the Gods to grant me is that I ask them for nothing.’
My favorite theme Pessoa follows is his unwavering dedication to wanting nothing. He writes about this line of thinking in many of his poems and this quote is one of my favorites. Found in his book: A little larger than the entire universe. Yes, I’ve read it 5 times over and still can’t get enough.
‘our greatest tragedies occur in the own idea of ourselves’
Fun fact: Fernando Pessoa, a Portuguese poet and writer, created around 70 heteronyms, which means he had about 70 different fully-developed personalities he wrote under. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from his book, The Book Of Disquiet.
Poems & Prose 