--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To have defined and sure opinions, fixed…" description: "\"To have defined and sure opinions, fixed and known instincts, passions and character - all that is the horror of turning our soul into a fact, material..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/fernando-pessoa-177_character_to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed_1085707.jpg" --- # To have defined and sure opinions, fixed and known… ![“To have defined and sure opinions, fixed and known instincts, passions and character - all that is the horror of turning our soul into a fact, materialize it and make it external.” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/fernando-pessoa-177_character_to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed_1085707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/fernando-pessoa-177_character_to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed_1085707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/fernando-pessoa-177_character_to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed_1085707.jpg) > “To have defined and sure opinions, fixed and known instincts, passions and character - all that is the horror of turning our soul into a fact, materialize it and make it external.” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fixed opinions and rigid identities imprison the soul, turning it into a static fact rather than a living process. **In simple terms:** Rigid beliefs trap the self. Key Takeaway Embrace fluidity of self. Themes identity rigidity self Mood introspective philosophical Type literary existential When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - self‑reflection Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when you’ve turned yourself into a fact? - What steps can you take to keep your character fluid? A Different Perspective Rigid views can hinder adaptability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Fact Materialize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-materialize-2780937/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixed/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Known Instincts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-instincts-2780938/) [Materialize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialize/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Soul Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul-fact-249740/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Turning Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turning-soul-2780939/) ## Related quotes > [“Prayer is simply “the turning of the soul to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknown-christian/prayer-is-simply-the-turning-of-the-soul-to-god/) [Unknown Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknown-christian/) > [Repentance is the turning of the soul from the way of midnight to the point of the coming sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/repentance-is-the-turning-of-the-soul-from-the-way-of-midnight-to-the/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Your face is everywhere I look, you know Your scent, your touch, your voice You haunt my nervous system with your soul It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/your-face-is-everywhere-i-look-you-know-your-scent-your-touch-your/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [The Soul is a fact, but it is not physical. ... Survivors of near-death experiences attest that some part of them apparently detaches from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/the-soul-is-a-fact-but-it-is-not-physical-survivors-of-near-death/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [When you visualize, then you materialize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/when-you-visualize-then-you-materialize/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Watch the greater image materialize. You need that thing over there to tell you what to do about that thing over here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/watch-the-greater-image-materialize-you-need-that-thing-over-there-to/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Proper visualization by the exercise of concentration and willpower enables us to materialize thoughts, not only as dreams or visions in the mental realm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/proper-visualization-by-the-exercise-of-concentration-and-willpower/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The more that all of the external things began to materialize, the less the internal things began to crystallize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/the-more-that-all-of-the-external-things-began-to-materialize-the/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [He vanished to the public in order to materialize for his family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-morrow/he-vanished-to-the-public-in-order-to-materialize-for-his-family/) [Lance Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-morrow/) > [“Use your imagination to visualize AND feel all the feels of what you desire in life. What you visualize will eventually materialize. Believe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/use-your-imagination-to-visualize-and-feel-all-the-feels-of-what-you/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [If what needs to get done is going to get done, then I can't screw around with the luxury of writing rituals or waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/if-what-needs-to-get-done-is-going-to-get-done-then-i-can-t-screw/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) > [Your dream is a reality that is just waiting for you to materialize it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/your-dream-is-a-reality-that-is-just-waiting-for-you-to-materialize-it/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [When you visualize, then you materialize. If you've been there in the mind you'll go there in the body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/when-you-visualize-then-you-materialize-if-you-ve-been-there-in-the/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Doubt is a form of pessimism that acts as an agent, which is sent to hinder prosperity on its materilization journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/doubt-is-a-form-of-pessimism-that-acts-as-an-agent-which-is-sent-to/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To have defined and sure opinions, fixed and known instincts, passions and character - all that is the horror of turning our soul into a fact, materialize it and make it external.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fernando Pessoa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed-and-known-instincts-passions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed-and-known-instincts-passions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/fernando-pessoa-177_character_to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed_1085707.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/fernando-pessoa-177_character_to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed_1085707.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f8/fernando-pessoa-177_character_to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed_1085707.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To have defined and sure opinions, fixed and known instincts, passions and character - all that is the…” — Fernando Pessoa", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Fernando Pessoa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To have defined and sure opinions,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed-and-known-instincts-passions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-have-defined-and-sure-opinions-fixed-and-known-instincts-passions/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```