But democracy isn't a state of perfection. It has to be improved, and that means constant vigilance. Antonio Tabucchi More Quotes by Antonio Tabucchi More Quotes From Antonio Tabucchi I live quietly at home among my family and friends. Antonio Tabucchi family home quiet Like a blazing comet, I've traversed infinite nights, interstellar spaces of the imagination, voluptuousness and fear. I've been a man, a woman, an old person, a little girl, I've been the crowds on the grand boulevards of the capital cities of the West, I've been the serene Buddha of the East, whose calm and wisdom we envy. I've known honor and dishonor, enthusiasm and exhaustion. ...I've been the sun and the moon, and everything because life is not enough. Antonio Tabucchi girl moon night An intellectual is going to have doubts, for example, about a fundamentalist religious doctrine that admits no doubt, about an imposed political system that allows no doubt, about a perfect aesthetic that has no room for doubt. Antonio Tabucchi political religious perfect It's the job of intellectuals and writers to cast doubt on perfection. Antonio Tabucchi perfection doubt jobs personally I don't trust literature that soothes people's consciences. Antonio Tabucchi dont-trust literature people I prefer insomnia to anaesthesia. Antonio Tabucchi anaesthesia recycling insomnia Xenophobia manifests itself especially against civilizations and cultures that are weak because they lack economic resources, means of subsistence or land. So nomadic people are the first targets of this kind of aggression. Antonio Tabucchi xenophobia land mean As a writer, I've always been interested in others. Antonio Tabucchi comeback Rather than regret for what I have written, I feel regret for what I shall never be able to read. Antonio Tabucchi able regret feels Doubts are like stains on a shirt. I like shirts with stains, because when I'm given a shirt that's too clean, one that's completely white, I immediately start having doubts. Antonio Tabucchi clean doubt white It's very useful when politicians have doubts because there are so many choices to be made in the world. Antonio Tabucchi choices doubt world There are some fundamental values it's impossible to be wrong about. Antonio Tabucchi values fundamentals impossible I was born in the Second World War during the Nazi invasion of my country. Antonio Tabucchi war country world I don't go for people who lead full and satisfying lives. Antonio Tabucchi satisfying people I vividly remember the stories my grandfather told me about the carnage of the First World War, which people tend to forget was one of the worst massacres in human history. Antonio Tabucchi grandfather war people Philosophy appears to concern itself only with the truth, but perhaps expresses only fantasies, while literature appears to concern itself only with fantasies, but perhaps it expresses the truth. Antonio Tabucchi fantasy literature philosophy No, I'm happy to go on living the life I've chosen. I'm a university teacher and I like my job. Antonio Tabucchi teacher jobs life Literature is my life of course, but from an ontological point of view. From an existential point of view, I like being a teacher. Antonio Tabucchi hygiene views teacher But I don't think I have any particular talent for prediction, because when you have three or four elements in hand, you don't have to be a genius to reach certain conclusions. Antonio Tabucchi four-elements hands thinking My job is to look at what politics is doing, not be a politician myself. Antonio Tabucchi politics jobs looks
