All through history, a nation or a civilization's enduring glory is articulated by its mega constructions - the pyramids, the lofty cathedrals… — F. Sionil Jose Cathedrals Copy Share Image
“I think that I was born on a day God was fast asleep. And whatever happened after my birth was nothing but… — F. Sionil José Ignorance Copy Share Image
You will find that our enemies are our own kin. It is they who betray us. So learn this most important lesson-in… — F. Sionil José Betray Copy Share Image
This is the harsh truth about us: not only do Filipinos ignore books, literature - we do not understand how important the… — F. Sionil Jose About Copy Share Image
“...the mind can also be kind and does blot out those episodes of our existence that we can't erase in our consciousness.” — F. Sionil José Con Copy Share Image
Professional societies are sooner or later fractured by the ego of their leaders. Everyone wants to be president, chairman, CEO; no one… — F. Sionil Jose Ceo Copy Share Image
I wish I could be honest and true, but truth as I see it is not something abstract, a pious generality---It is… — F. Sionil José Abstract Copy Share Image
It was in the sugar hacienda in Negros, Panay and in Central Luzon where I saw the injustices heaped upon the sugar… — F. Sionil Jose Central Copy Share Image
Indeed, the existence of class, of social hierarchy, is as old as man himself. It prevails in the jungle where strength determines… — F. Sionil Jose Also Copy Share Image
“I believe in life, that it is sweet and that, for all its occasional bitterness, we-man, that is-are headed toward something better… — F. Sionil José Bitterness Copy Share Image
I can't understand Urdu, Bahasa or Russian, but when the Pakistani Faiz, the Indonesian Rendra and the Russian Rosdentvensky declaim, I can… — F. Sionil Jose Audience Copy Share Image
Our appreciation of folk art will strengthen our identities, our pride in belonging to a community. People trained in the creative use… — F. Sionil José Acquire Copy Share Image
The heart of the theater is the play itself, how it dramatizes life to make it meaningful entertainment. To achieve depth and… — F. Sionil Jose Achieve Copy Share Image
I write to please myself—of course, that is a given. But beyond this reach for pleasure, I know that I write for… — F. Sionil José Apathy Copy Share Image
“What do we do with mountains? For us who have lived most of our lives on monotonous level ground, mountains give indelible… — F. Sionil José Landscape Copy Share Image
Life is holy and it is for all of us. God's design, I cannot understand myself and I never will, but I… — F. Sionil José Aim Copy Share Image
Tourists as well as natives want to see cultural achievements - whether it's the Banaue Terraces, the old churches or museums. — F. Sionil Jose Achievements Copy Share Image
The Japanese bureaucracy is unique. It is also very powerful, although it is now the object of so much criticism. Many of… — F. Sionil José Bureaucracy Copy Share Image
“All I can look after is my own farm, serve those who seek when they are sick. I have children to look… — F. Sionil José Children Copy Share Image
Art, whatever form it takes, requires hard work, craftsmanship and creativity. As a writer, I know my grammar, cadence, the music of… — F. Sionil Jose Art Copy Share Image
Some lucky people can be funny without half trying because they actually look funny, because acting funny is in their bones -… — F. Sionil Jose Acting Copy Share Image
Colonialism subdues in many dulcet guises. It conquered under the pretext of spreading Christianity, civilization, law and order, to make the world… — F. Sionil Jose Christianity Copy Share Image
The ethnic differences among Filipinos are very real. The paucity of arable land, for instance, explains the industry of the Ilokanos and… — F. Sionil Jose Among Copy Share Image
Christianity doesn't demand that we worship our ancestors. If we don't remember our ancestors, then, in all likelihood, we cannot also recall… — F. Sionil Jose Also Copy Share Image
You perhaps know me as a novelist. Literature is one of the arts - in fact, the noblest of the arts. That… — F. Sionil Jose Ancient Copy Share Image
“To THOSE who want to lift this nation from the dungheap of history, the past does not matter — only the present,… — F. Sionil José Filipino-authors Copy Share Image
I envy those Hindus and Buddhists who have in their religion philosophy and ancestor worship which build in the believer a continuity… — F. Sionil Jose Ancestor worship Copy Share Image
My wife and I often visit Rosales and the Ilokos as a matter of habit or whim induced by nostalgia, homesickness -… — F. Sionil Jose Compels Copy Share Image
“I have been blinded, as many of us have been blinded by our needs. I had thought of only my family--this was… — F. Sionil José Blind Copy Share Image
We are shallow because our media are so horribly shallow. Every morning, I peruse the papers, and there is so little to… — F. Sionil Jose Artifice 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
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
“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
“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
“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
“And old Padre Jose telling him to read as much as he could for the world was open only to those who… — F. Sionil José Education 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
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
