Multatuli Quotes

Writer

Multatuli, whose real name was Eduard Douwes Dekker, was a Dutch writer. His work 'The Diary of a Visit to the Dutch Antilles' exposed the残酷 realities of Dutch colonial rule and conducted a profound critique of colonialism.

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All Truth Dutch East Indies Indonesia Colonialism Crime Dutch Colonialism Indonesian History Java Poetry Tolerance

Famous Multatuli Quotes

“And the worst thing about such shows on the stage is that the public gets so accustomed to all these untruths that they admire them and applaud them.”

Truth Honesty Dishonesty Untruth

Book:Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

Source: Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

“Money will no doubt be obtainable; and money will buy bricks and mortar. The artist who makes the plans, and the mason who lays the stones, can be paid. But no money will buy the lost yet admirable sentiment that saw a building a poem, a poem in granite that spoke loudly to the people, a poem in marble that stood there as an immovable eternal prayer...”

Poetry Money Architecture

Book:Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

Source: Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

“The whole of Java is immediately subject to the Netherlands. There is no question of tribute, or levy, or alliance. The Javanese is a Dutch subject. The King of the Netherlands is his king. The descendants of his former princes and lords are Dutch officials. They are appointed, transferred, promoted, dismissed by the Governor-General, who rules in the name of the King. The criminal is convicted and sentences under a law made in The Hague. The taxes the Javanese pays flow into the Exchequer of the Netherlands.”

Colonialism Indonesia Java Dutch East Indies Dutch Colonialism Indonesian History

Book:Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

Source: Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

“This form of hereditary privilege started as a favour, soon became a custom, and finally a necessity; but it never became law.”

Law Privilege Indonesia Java Custom Dutch East Indies Dutch Colonialism Indonesian History

Book:Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

Source: Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

“Custom, which has the force of law in the Dutch East Indies more than it has anywhere else, dictates that an officer charged with government of a division shall be given a festive reception.”

Culture Colonialism Indonesia Dutch East Indies

Book:Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

Source: Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company

“Wat maakt ge van onze dochters, o zeden! Ge dwingt haar tot liegen en huichelen. Ze mogen niet weten wat ze weten, niet voelen wat ze voelen, niet begeeren wat ze begeeren, niet wezen wat ze zyn.”

Multatuli Dochters Douwes Dekker Eduard Douwes Dekker

Author:Multatuli

“There is nothing more poetic than the truth. He who does not see poetry in it will always be a poor versifier outside of it.”

Doe Truth Poetry Poor Poet Poetic

Author:Multatuli

“Two left-handed gloves don't make a pair. Two half-truths don't make a truth.”

Two Truth Left Half Pairs Gloves Half Truth Left Handed

Book:The Oyster & the Eagle: Selected Aphorisms and Parables of Multatuli