Ernesto Cardenal Quotes

I speak of the current civilization and I consider her not as a symbol but as victim-victim, really, of the commercialization, of the falsification of this real world. That is my theme.

It seems to me / the the great bards of the 20th century are in Publicity / those Keatses and Shelleys singing the Colgate smile / Cosmic Coca-Cola, the pause the refreshes, / the make of car that will take us to the land of happiness.

I began to write poetry when I was about four years old. In other words, I've always been writing poetry.

We all share in the same cosmic rhythm ... For all natural laws are like the rhythm of the strings of the harp.

Slogan-making is not poetry.

I am not interested in poetry for poetry's sake.

I think that the proclamation of the Gospel is sometimes nearer to an atheistic point of view than to traditional religious attitudes.

I am not interested in an economic liberation of man without the liberation of the whole man.

Some liberation theologians maintain that they are not influenced by Marxist philosophy at all. In this case it is necessary to discern whether they say this for tactical reasons, so as not to be compromised politically or whether they are really convinced that Marxism doesn't influence them in any way. I personally think that it is not possible to evade the influence of Marxism, as we cannot commit ourselves to the revolutionary struggle without drawing support from the conclusions of scientific socialism.

According to some liberation theologians atheism is not the cause of the conflict between Christianity and Marxism, but is rather the link between them.

We turn outward, attracted by the beauty we see in created things without realizing that they are only a reflection of the real beauty. And the real beauty is within us.

My poetry is not lyric. The epigrams are lyric because they come from my youthful period of lyricism, but my other poetry is not lyric.

All human eyes have longing in them.