Portrait of Vaclav Havel

Vaclav Havel

Czech president, playwright

Contemporary influential 120 sayings

Sayings by Vaclav Havel

The truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred.

1989 — Velvet Revolution speech
Relationships Unverifiable

As soon as man began considering himself the source of the meaning of the world and not merely a part of it, the world began to lose its meaning.

1986 — Disturbing the Peace
General Unverifiable

The tragedy of the modern world is not that it has lost its sense of purpose, but that it has lost its sense of humor.

1990s — Interview
General Unverifiable

I am not a politician, I am a playwright.

1990s — Interview
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

Without free, independent, and autonomous culture, there is no nation.

1990s — Speech
General Unverifiable

The best way to destroy a totalitarian system is to live as if it does not exist.

1978 — Essay, 'The Power of the Powerless'
General Unverifiable

Keeping the truth suppressed is a dangerous game. It can blow up in your face.

1990s — Interview
General Unverifiable

The only way to achieve freedom is to fight for it.

1980s — Speech
General Unverifiable

I am not a prophet, I am a man who tries to tell the truth.

1990s — Interview
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

Truth is not something that can be invented. It is something that must be discovered.

1990s — Speech
General Unverifiable

The more power you have, the more responsibility you have.

1990s — Interview
General Unverifiable

Living in truth is not a matter of intellectual conviction, but of existential responsibility.

1978 — Essay, 'The Power of the Powerless'
General Unverifiable

The future is uncertain, but it is also full of possibilities.

1990s — Speech
General Unverifiable

I believe in the power of the human spirit.

1990s — Interview
General Unverifiable

The greatest challenge facing humanity is to live in harmony with nature.

1990s — Speech
Food & Drink Unverifiable

Every person is responsible for their own actions.

1990s — Interview
General Unverifiable

The most important thing is to never give up.

1980s — Speech
General Unverifiable

I am a man of theater, not a man of politics.

1990s — Interview
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

A genuine, all-encompassing, and profound change in human existence is not possible without a change in the human heart.

1994 — Speech, 'The Need for Transcendence in the Postmodern World'
General Unverifiable

The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create.

1990s — Speech
Food & Drink Unverifiable
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