Vaclav Havel Quotes

A collection of quotes by Vaclav Havel.

Vaclav Havel (1936-2011) was a Czech playwright, essayist, and politician who played a pivotal role in the democratic transformation of Czechoslovakia and later became the first President of the Czech Republic. Born into a prominent intellectual family in Prague, Havel initially pursued a career in theater, writing plays that critically examined the political and social realities of communist Czechoslovakia.

Despite facing censorship and political persecution under the communist regime, Havel's work gained international recognition for its insightful commentary on the human condition. His most notable plays include "The Garden Party" and "The Memorandum."

Havel's political engagement intensified during the Prague Spring in 1968, when he actively supported political reform within the country. However, due to his dissenting views, he faced constant surveillance and was eventually imprisoned for his activism, spending a total of five years in communist jails.

With the fall of communism in the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Vaclav Havel emerged as a symbol of resistance and democracy. In 1990, he was elected as the President of Czechoslovakia, overseeing the country's transition from totalitarianism to democracy. After the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992, Havel continued serving as the President of the newly formed Czech Republic until 2003.

Havel is widely regarded as a champion of human rights and an advocate for civil liberties. His moral integrity, philosophical writings, and unwavering commitment to the ideals of democracy left a lasting impact on Czech society and earned him international acclaim. Vaclav Havel passed away in 2011, leaving behind a legacy as one of the key figures in the struggle for freedom in Central Europe.

Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this dee

Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.

The deeper the experience of an absence of meaning - in othe

The deeper the experience of an absence of meaning - in other words, of absurdity - the more energetically meaning is sought.

There are times when we must sink to the bottom of our miser

There are times when we must sink to the bottom of our misery to understand truth, just as we must descend to the bottom of a well to see the stars in broad daylight.

Time Truth Thetimes

Our country, if that is what we want, can now permanently ra

Our country, if that is what we want, can now permanently radiate love, understanding, the power of the spirit and of ideas. It is precisely this glow that we can offer as our specific contribution to international politics.

Politics Power Love

The only salvation of the world today... is the rapid dissem

The only salvation of the world today... is the rapid dissemination of the basic values of the West, that is, the ideas of democracy, human rights, the civil society, and the free market.

Value

Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well

Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.

Hope

Hope is a feeling that life and work have meaning. You eithe

Hope is a feeling that life and work have meaning. You either have it or you don't, regardless of the state of the world that surrounds you.

Hope

It lies in human nature that where you experience your first

It lies in human nature that where you experience your first laughs, you also remember the age kindly.

Age

The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less

The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life but that it bothers him less and less.

Apathy

This is a confusing and uncertain period, when a thousand wi

This is a confusing and uncertain period, when a thousand wise words can go completely unnoticed, and one thoughtless word can provoke an utterly nonsensical furor.

Language

What's certain is that a totalitarian enclave like Cuba's ca

What's certain is that a totalitarian enclave like Cuba's can't continue to exist, so change will definitely come there, eventually.

Change

A state that denies its citizens their basic rights becomes

A state that denies its citizens their basic rights becomes a danger to its neighbors as well: internal arbitrary rule will be reflected in arbitrary external relations. The suppression of public opinion, the abolition of public competition for power and its public exercise opens the way for the state power to arm itself in any way it sees fit. A state that does not hesitate to lie to its own people will not hesitate to lie to other states.

Rights

The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power

The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin -- and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.

Truth

There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful

There can be no doubt that distrust of words is less harmful than unwarranted trust in them. Besides, to distrust words, and indict them for the horrors that might slumber unobtrusively within them --isn't this, after all, the true vocation of the intellectual?

Words

People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only to

People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only too well that the question of whether one or several political parties are in power, and how these parties define and label themselves, is of far less importance than the question of whether or not it is possible to live like a human being.

Tyranny

I think theatre should always be somewhat suspect.

I think theatre should always be somewhat suspect.

Theater

Drama assumes an order. If only so that it might have -- by

Drama assumes an order. If only so that it might have -- by disrupting that order -- a way of surprising.

Theater

A human action becomes genuinely important when it springs f

A human action becomes genuinely important when it springs from the soil of a clear-sighted awareness of the temporality and the ephemerally of everything human. It is only this awareness that can breathe any greatness into an action.

Action(s)

As soon as man began considering himself the source of the h

As soon as man began considering himself the source of the highest meaning in the world and the measure of everything, the world began to lose its human dimension, and man began to lose control of it.

Reason

Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk

Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.

Humor