“There is so much that the past can teach us. -The Cripple” — F. Sionil José Cripple Copy Share Image
Writers are historians, too. It is in literature that the greater truths about a people and their past are found. — F. Sionil Jose About Copy Share Image
“The Philippines just need 100 youth to stand up for their country” — F. Sionil José Philippines Copy Share Image
I am for poetry that is admired by peasant and aristocrat alike. — F. Sionil Jose Admired Copy Share Image
“But all men die--as anonymously as they had lived, no matter what their achievements. -Istak” — F. Sionil José Achievements Copy Share Image
I regret that I have not written more, shouted louder, and acted out my beliefs. — F. Sionil Jose Acted Copy Share Image
We write from life and call it literature, and literature lives because we are in it. — F. Sionil José Books Copy Share Image
“Virtue and wealth seldom go together. The greatest criminals are also the wealthiest men." -The Cripple” — F. Sionil José Cripple Copy Share Image
“There is nothing like the land you belong to claiming you back. But everywhere the earth is the same. -Old David” — F. Sionil José Nature Copy Share Image
“Literature suffers because writers give their books to colleagues who will then write glowing reviews or saccharine introductions.” — F. Sionil José Book Copy Share Image
“Indeed time has that ultimate capacity to render the passions of the past when recalled in the present as no more than… — F. Sionil José Time Copy Share Image
You can't have integrity for breakfast, but try and keep it because it is perhaps the single most important word that defines… — F. Sionil Jose Because Copy Share Image
We are shallow because we are 'mayabang,' ego driven, and do not have the humility to understand that we are only human,… — F. Sionil Jose Driven Copy Share Image
“In the end, the satisfaction which all of us seek, it seems, can come only from our discovering that we really have… — F. Sionil José Life Copy Share Image
“It was true then what Padre Jose had said, that there is evil in all of us, that only with faith and… — F. Sionil José Faith Copy Share Image
“Life is worth living really but only if we believe it is, if we believe further that life is eternal not because… — F. Sionil José Last forever Copy Share Image
“I would like to see all this as a big joke that is being played upon us, but I have seen what… — F. Sionil José Comedy Copy Share Image
“The bravest are usually those whom we do not know or hear about, those anonymous men who dig the trenches, who produce… — F. Sionil José Bravest Copy Share Image
“Conquest by force is not sanctioned by God. The Americans have no right to be here. We will defeat them because we… — F. Sionil José Americans Copy Share Image
“Why do you butcher your carabao and feed a throng because your son is getting a wife?" Father always blustered to them… — F. Sionil José Marriage Copy Share Image
“Never, never hide your pain, scream as if you are dying so you will not be harmed more. Never, never hide your… — F. Sionil José Poverty Copy Share Image
Past middle age, some friends suggested that I should have my eyebags removed, the deepening creases on my face stretched. I often… — F. Sionil Jose Age Copy Share Image
We must know our own roles. We should also know the roles that others play, and the rules such roles follow. In… — F. Sionil Jose Act Copy Share Image
To fund major cultural efforts, we must not rely alone on government and foundation patronage; if the farmer can spend for beer,… — F. Sionil Jose Alone Copy Share Image
We compromise ourselves the day we are born. If we are looking for the original sin, there it is- our incapacity to… — F. Sionil José Accepting Copy Share Image
“There is nothing in the world which an artist cannot recreate into something poetic, ennobling. And why do we read these things?… — F. Sionil José Art Copy Share Image
“We go from one darkness to another and in between, the hidden light of the world, of knowledge. We open our eyes… — F. Sionil José Brothers Copy Share Image
“But God, I don’t doubt You. I can see You in the morning, in the dew on the grass. Should I worship… — F. Sionil José Long ago Copy Share Image
The obscenities of this country are not girls like you. It is the poverty which is obscene, and the criminal irresponsibility of… — F. Sionil José Country Copy Share Image
“Sometimes you look at yourself in the mirror, any mirror, and you wonder why that nose looks as it does, or those… — F. Sionil José Mirror Copy Share Image
Always remember: the alleviation of poverty is never a political or economic issue - it is moral. — F. Sionil Jose Always Copy Share Image
“Absences can also make one forget. Absence dulls the memory and banishes those who are precious from the mind.” — F. Sionil José Absence Copy Share Image
Of course, we are all egoists. Egoism is so much a part of our humanity. — F. Sionil Jose Egoism Copy Share Image
