VII From my village I see as much of the universe as can be… - Fernando Pessoa

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VII
From my village I see as much of the universe as can be seen
from the earth,
And so my village is as large as any town,
For I am the size of what I see
And not the size of my height . . .

In the cities life is smaller
Than here in my house on top of this hill.
The big buildings of cities lock up the view,
They hide the horizon, pulling our gaze far away from the
open sky.
They make us small, for they take away all the vastness our
eyes can see,
And they make us poor, for our only wealth is seeing.

Fernando Pessoa

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About Fernando Pessoa

Fernando Pessoa (13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet and writer, most of whose work was published posthumously. He wrote frequently under heteronyms, alter egos with developed personalities, biographies, jobs, habits, attitudes, addresses, etc., who sometimes quoted and interacted with each other and other people.

Also Known As

Pen Names: Alberto Caeiro • Álvaro de Campos • Ricardo Reis • Bernardo Soares

Native Name: Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa

Alternative Names: Fernando Antonio Nogueira Pessoa

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Originators like Fernando Pessoa:

Jean-Paul Sartre Emil Cioran Franz Kafka John Fowles Henry Miller

Additional quotes by Fernando Pessoa

Alles ist so vergeblich wie ein Herumstochern in Asche und so vage wie der Augenblick, bevor der Morgen graut. Und das Licht fällt so vollkommen und heiter auf die Dinge, vergoldet sie so prächtig mit traurig lächelnder Wirklichkeit! Das ganze Mysterium der Welt kommt herab zu mir, bis es vor meinen Augen Banalität und Straße wird. Wie sich doch Alltag und Geheimnis berühren in unserer unmittelbaren Nähe! Hier, an der lichten Oberfläche dieses vielschichtigen menschlichen Lebens, lächelt die Zeit ungewiss auf den Lippen des Mysteriums! Wie modern dies alles klingt! Und im Grunde so alt, so geheimnisvoll, mit einem so anderen Sinn behaftet als dem, der in all dem leuchtet!

Life is full of paradoxes, as roses are of thorns.

A sort of anteneurosis of what I will be when I will not longer be freezes my body and soul. A kind of remembrance of my future death makes me shudder from the inside.

VII From my village I see as much of the universe as can be seen from the earth, And so my village is as large as any town, For I am the size of what… - Fernando Pessoa

About Fernando Pessoa

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Additional quotes by Fernando Pessoa