Jorge Luis Borges
Master of metaphysical fiction and labyrinths
Most quoted
"A writer — and, I believe, generally all persons — must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art."
— from Interview with Richard Burgin, 1967
"A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses, and individuals. A short time before he dies, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the lineaments of his own face."
— from Epilogue to 'The Maker', 1960
"I foresee that man will resign himself each day to more atrocious undertakings; soon there will be no one but warriors and brigands; I give them this counsel: The author of an atrocious undertaking ought to imagine that he has already accomplished it, ought to impose upon himself a future as irrevocable as the past."
— from The Garden of Forking Paths, 1944
All quotes by Jorge Luis Borges (325)
The future is inevitable, but it is not necessarily the best.
I have always been a coward. I have always been afraid of life.
The world, unfortunately, is real. I, unfortunately, am not.
I am a man of many contradictions. I am a man who loves books, but I am also a man who loves life.
There are only two plots in the world: the journey and the labyrinth.
I am not a philosopher, I am a writer.
I am not a man of ideas, I am a man of words.
The universe is a library, and I am a librarian.
I have always been a dreamer. I have always been a man who lives in his own world.
I am a man who believes in the power of words. I am a man who believes that words can change the world.
I have always been a man who loves paradoxes. I have always been a man who loves contradictions.
The world is a mirror, and I am a reflection.
I am a man who believes in the power of imagination. I am a man who believes that imagination can create new worlds.
I have always been a man who loves mysteries. I have always been a man who loves enigmas.
The world is a dream, and I am a dreamer.
I am a man who believes in the power of stories. I am a man who believes that stories can transcend time and space.
I have always been a man who loves illusions. I have always been a man who loves deceptions.
The world is a game, and I am a player.
I am a man who believes in the power of symbols. I am a man who believes that symbols can reveal hidden truths.
I have always been a man who loves labyrinths. I have always been a man who loves mazes.
Contemporaries of Jorge Luis Borges
Other Literatures born within 50 years of Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986).