Quotessence
Home / Authors / Vaclav Havel
Vaclav Havel

Vaclav Havel Quotes

Former President of Czechoslovakia

Filter quotes by topic

AllWorldHumansIfsHeroPeopleHeroicWayMenThinkingDoeLyingResponsibilityWellsStatesRightsCitizensHeartHuman RightsKnowsCountry

Famous Vaclav Havel Quotes

“I am not an optimist, because I am not sure that everything ends well. Nor am I a pessimist, because I am not sure that everything ends badly. I just carry hope in my heart. Hope is the feeling that life and work have a meaning. You either have it or you don't, regardless of the state of the world that surrounds you. Life without hope is an empty, boring, and useless life. I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me. I am thankful to God for this gift. It is as big as life itself.”

IfsWorldWellsHeartEndsStatesFeelingsBigsHopeImagineMy HeartEmptyStriveBoringUselessNot SureSurroundImagine ThatOptimistPessimistWithout HopeI Am ThankfulThankful To GodUseless Life
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image

“The idea of human rights and freedoms must be an integral part of any meaningful world order. Yet, I think it must be anchored in a different place, and in a different way, than has been the case so far. If it is to be more than just a slogan mocked by half the world, it cannot be expressed in the language of a departing era, and it must not be mere froth floating on the subsiding waters of faith in a purely scientific relationship to the world.”

IfsThinkingWorldWayHumansHas BeensIdeasDifferentOrderLanguageWaterHalfCasesRightsMereHuman RightsMeaningfulErasDifferent WaysFloatingSlogansDifferent PlaceWorld OrderRights And FreedomsDeparting
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image

“When a man has his heart in the right place and good taste, he can not only do well in politics but is even predetermined for it. If someone is modest and does not yearn for power, he is certainly not ill-equipped to engage in politics; on the contrary, he belongs there. What is needed in politics is not the ability to lie but rather the sensibility to know when, where, how and to whom to say things.”

IfsKnowsMenWellsHeartDoeLyingAbilityNeededTasteIllContrarySensibilityModestCan NotRight PlaceGood TastePredetermined
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image

“I am not sure one is capable of reflecting absurdity without having a strong sense of meaning. Absurdity makes sense only against a meaningful background. It is the deeper meaning that is shedding light on the absurdity. There must be a vanish point, a metaphysical horizon if you will where absurdity and meaning merge.”

IfsLightStrongCapableDeeperMeaningfulBackgroundsMake SenseNot SureHorizonAbsurdityMetaphysicalReflectingDeeper MeaningShedding Light
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image

“We ask ourselves all kinds of questions, such as why does a peacock have such beautiful feathers, and we may answer that he needs the feathers to impress a female peacock, but then we ask ourselves, and why is there a peacock? And then we ask, why is there anything living? And then we ask, why is there anything at all? And if you tell some advocate of scientism that the answer is a secret, he will go white hot and write a book. But it is a secret. And the experience of living with the secret and thinking about it is in itself a kind of faith.”

IfsThinkingNeedsWritingKindMayDoeBookBeautifulAsksWhiteAnswersSecretFemaleHotAll KindsImpressFeathersScientismPeacock
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image

“If [Western] relations with Russia are to be friendly, they must be open and sincere, otherwise there can be no friendship at all. That means one should be able to speak openly about everything at meetings and conferences. It shouldn't be that we can't discuss the killing of journalists in Russia, or the suppression of human rights, or all the warning signs surfacing in Russia because of oil and gas or other economic reasons. It's a big problem, but it's the same in Western relations with Arab states.”

IfsShouldHumansMeanStatesReasonProblemBigsAbleSpeakRightsEconomicRelationMeetingsWesternKillingHuman RightsOilRussiaJournalistGasFriendlySincereWarningConferencesSuppressionBig ProblemsOil And GasWarning Signs
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image

“Someone who does not draw strength from himself and who is incapable of finding the meaning of his life within himself will...seek the map to his own orientation somewhere outside himself-in some ideology, organization, or society, and then, however active he may appear to be, he is merely waiting, depending. He waits to see what others will do, or what roles they will assign to him, and he depends on them-and if they don't do anything or if they botch things, he succumbs to disillusion, despair, and ultimately, resignation.”

IfsInspirationalMayDoeWaitingRolesSocietyStrengthDependsDespairFindingsDrawsOrganizationActiveIdeologyMapsIncapableOrientationResignationDisillusionEnviromental
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image

“If every day a man takes orders in silence from an incompetent superior, if every day he solemnly performs ritual acts which he privately finds ridiculous, if he unhesitatingly gives answers to questionnaires which are contrary to his real opinions and is prepared to deny his own self in public, if he sees no difficulty in feigning sympathy or even affection where, in fact, he feels only indifference or aversion, it still does not mean that he has entirely lost the use of one of the basic human senses, namely, the sense of humiliation.”

IfsMenGivingFeelsHumansMeanDoeStillsRealSelfFactsUseOrderLostAnswersSilenceOpinionSadnessSadDifficultyPreparedAffectionDenyContraryRidiculousSensesSuperiorsIndifferenceRitualSympathyHumiliationIncompetentAversionFeigningQuestionnaires
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image

“The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin - and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.”

IfsWayDoeTruthActionDesirePowerCitizensPromiseCostOffersOfficeDignitySkinsVoteSeekingGenuineRealmsCharmAffirmingDissidents
Author:Vaclav Havel
Create image