Miguel de Unamuno Quotes

A collection of quotes by Miguel de Unamuno.

Miguel de Unamuno, born on September 29, 1864, in Bilbao, Spain, was a prominent Spanish writer, philosopher, and educator. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures in Spanish literature and intellectual life of the 20th century. Unamuno's works cover a wide range of genres, including novels, essays, poetry, plays, and philosophical treatises, which often explored existential themes and the inherent contradictions of human existence.

Throughout his career, Unamuno held various academic positions, including the rector of the University of Salamanca. As a professor of Greek language and literature, he was renowned for his engaging and passionate teaching style, earning him a dedicated following of students and supporters.

Unamuno's literary output was marked by his introspective writing, characterized by a deep emotional intensity and a constant quest for truth and meaning. His most celebrated novel, "Mist," delves into the complexities of personal identity and the struggle between reason and faith. His philosophical works, such as "The Tragic Sense of Life," reflect his preoccupation with existential questions and the nature of human existence.

Throughout his life, Unamuno engaged in political and social activism, often clashing with the authorities of the time. He fiercely defended individual liberties, free speech, and democratic values, making him a controversial and polarizing figure in Spanish society.

Miguel de Unamuno's intellectual legacy continues to be influential in both Spanish and international literature, philosophy, and thought. He died on December 31, 1936, in Salamanca, Spain, leaving behind a rich and enduring body of work.

The only way to give finality to the world is to give it con

The only way to give finality to the world is to give it consciousness.

Miguel de Unamuno

Feeling does not succeed in converting consolation into trut

Feeling does not succeed in converting consolation into truth, nor does reason succeed in converting truth into consolation.

Miguel de Unamuno

For the truth is that our doctrines are usually only the jus

For the truth is that our doctrines are usually only the justification a posteriori of our conduct, or else they are our way of trying to explain that conduct to ourselves.

Miguel de Unamuno

Use harms and even destroys beauty. The noblest function of

Use harms and even destroys beauty. The noblest function of an object is to be contemplated.

Miguel de Unamuno

And above all, we must feel and act as if an endless continu

And above all, we must feel and act as if an endless continuation of our earthly life awaited us after death; and if it be that nothingness is the fate that awaits us we must not, in the words of Obermann, so act that it shall be a just fate.

Miguel de Unamuno

Life Death Fate

Let us go on committing suicide by working among our people,

Let us go on committing suicide by working among our people, and let them dream life just as the lake dreams the sky.

Miguel de Unamuno

Life Dreams People

Jesus said that God was not the God of the dead, but of the

Jesus said that God was not the God of the dead, but of the living. And the other life is not, in fact, thinkable to us except under the same forms as those of this earthly and transitory life.

Miguel de Unamuno

The very same reason which one man may regard as a motive fo

The very same reason which one man may regard as a motive for taking care to prolong his life may be regarded by another man as a motive for shooting himself.

Miguel de Unamuno

Science is a cemetery of dead ideas, even though life may is

Science is a cemetery of dead ideas, even though life may issue from them.

Miguel de Unamuno

It is truer to say that martyrs create faith more than faith

It is truer to say that martyrs create faith more than faith creates martyrs.

Miguel de Unamuno

Your neighbor's vision is as true for him as your own vision

Your neighbor's vision is as true for him as your own vision is true for you.

Miguel de Unamuno

It is sad not to love, but it is much sadder not to be able

It is sad not to love, but it is much sadder not to be able to love.

Miguel de Unamuno

To love with the spirit is to pity, and he who pities most l

To love with the spirit is to pity, and he who pities most loves most.

Miguel de Unamuno

When a thing is said to be not worth refuting you may be sur

When a thing is said to be not worth refuting you may be sure that either it is flagrantly stupid -- in which case all comment is superfluous -- or it is something formidable, the very crux of the problem.

Miguel de Unamuno

Argument & Debate

For it is the suffering flesh, it is suffering, it is death,

For it is the suffering flesh, it is suffering, it is death, that lovers perpetuate upon the earth. Love is at once the brother, son, and father of death, which is its sister, mother, and daughter. And thus it is that in the depth of love there is a depth

Miguel de Unamuno

The skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who invest

The skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but him who investigates or researches, as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found.

Miguel de Unamuno

To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be.

To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be.

Miguel de Unamuno

We need God, not in order to understand the why, but in orde

We need God, not in order to understand the why, but in order to feel and sustain the ultimate wherefore, to give a meaning to the universe.

Miguel de Unamuno

Science is a cemetery of dead ideas.

Science is a cemetery of dead ideas.

Miguel de Unamuno

Cure yourself of the affliction of caring how you appear to

Cure yourself of the affliction of caring how you appear to others. Concern yourself only with how you appear before God, concern yourself only with the idea that God may have of you.

Miguel de Unamuno