Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone. Octavio Paz on alone
Art is an invention of aesthetics, which in turn is an invention of philosophers... What we call art is a game. Octavio Paz on art
Literature is the expression of a feeling of deprivation, a recourse against a sense of something missing. But the contrary is also true: language is what makes us human. It is a recourse against the meaningless noise and silence of nature and history. Octavio Paz on history
Love is an attempt at penetrating another being, but it can only succeed if the surrender is mutual. Octavio Paz on love
Literature is the expression of a feeling of deprivation, a recourse against a sense of something missing. But the contrary is also true: language is what makes us human. It is a recourse against the meaningless noise and silence of nature and history. Octavio Paz on nature
To read a poem is to hear it with our eyes to hear it is to see it with our ears. Octavio Paz on poetry
Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. Octavio Paz on wisdom