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A transposable aphorism is a malaise of the urge to be witty, or in other words, a maxim that is untroubled by the fact that the opposite of what it says is equally true so long as it appears to be funny.
Umberto Eco
Funny
Words
Long
Other
Says
Fact
True
Equally
Witty
Opposite
Maxim
In Other Words
Urge
Aphorism
Appears
All the religious wars that have caused blood to be shed for centuries arise from passionate feelings and facile counter-positions, such as Us and Them, good and bad, white and black.
Umberto Eco
Good
Black
Feelings
White
Bad
Religious
Religious Wars
Facile
Arise
Shed
Caused
Passionate
Blood
Them
Centuries
Us
Good And Bad
Wars
The problem with the Internet is that it gives you everything - reliable material and crazy material. So the problem becomes, how do you discriminate?
Umberto Eco
Crazy
You
Problem
Internet
Everything
Reliable
Gives
Becomes
How
Material
Discriminate
The Problem With
I was a fervent Catholic, and I belonged to the national organizations, even becoming one of the national leaders, until the age of 21, 22.
Umberto Eco
Age
National
Leaders
Until
Catholic
Becoming
Fervent
Organizations
Even
Belonged
Every time that I write a novel I am convinced for at least two years that it is the last one, because a novel is like a child. It takes two years after its birth. You have to take care of it. It starts walking, and then speaking.
Umberto Eco
Time
You
I Am
Care
Every
Starts
Every Time
Birth
I Write
Write
Take
Take Care
Takes
Like
Because
Am
Least
Years
Walking
Child
After
Then
Convinced
Speaking
Novel
Last
Two
The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in their turn speak of things. Without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts; therefore it is dumb.
Umberto Eco
Good
Book
Speak
Made
Signs
Other
Eye
Lies
Contains
Concepts
Read
Without
Dumb
Up
Being
Which
Them
Turn
Produce
Therefore
Things
After years of practice, I can walk into a bookstore and understand its layout in a few seconds. I can glance at the spine of a book and make a good guess at its content from a number of signs.
Umberto Eco
Good
Book
Walk
Signs
Practice
Few
Seconds
Guess
Bookstore
I Can
Spine
Layout
Glance
Make
Content
Understand
Years
After
Number
I don't want to write a novel per year. I know that I need a break of one or two years. So maybe I invent some new, urgent activity so I don't fall into the trap of starting a new novel.
Umberto Eco
Invent
Year
Fall
One Or Two
Some
Per
Write
New
Know
Years
Maybe
Want
Break
Urgent
Trap
Novel
Activity
Starting
Two
Need
The thought that all experience will be lost at the moment of my death makes me feel pain and fear... What a waste, decades spent building up experience, only to throw it all away... We remedy this sadness by working. For example, by writing, painting, or building cities.
Umberto Eco
Death
Me
Experience
Writing
Fear
Sadness
Will
Thought
Example
Building
Lost
Pain
Painting
Spent
Cities
Only
Throw
Remedy
Feel
For Example
Makes
Up
Decades
Working
Moment
Waste
Away
The court jester had the right to say the most outrageous things to the king. Everything was permitted during carnival, even the songs that the Roman legionnaires would sing, calling Julius Caesar 'queen,' alluding, in a very transparent way, to his real, or presumed, homosexual escapades.
Umberto Eco
Queen
King
Everything
Way
Carnival
Say
Would
Outrageous
Had
Songs
Caesar
Most
Sing
Calling
Court
Real
Permitted
His
Julius
Julius Caesar
Very
Roman
Transparent
Even
Right
Things
Homosexual
Many people who no longer go to church end up falling prey to superstition.
Umberto Eco
People
Church
Superstition
Prey
Longer
Go
Falling
End
Up
Who
Many
Every European goes on the streets and sees medieval churches. Not if you live in Indianapolis. The most exciting letters I received were from people in places like that.
Umberto Eco
You
People
Live
Every
Churches
Sees
Exciting
Like
Most
Were
Goes
Places
European
Letters
Streets
Received
Medieval
Sometimes you say things with a smile with the precise intention of making it clear that you are not being serious, and are only kidding. If I salute a friend with a smile and say, 'How are you, you old scoundrel!' clearly I don't really mean he's a scoundrel.
Umberto Eco
Smile
You
Sometimes
Old
Say
Kidding
Only
He
Clear
Clearly
How
Making
Friend
Scoundrel
Salute
Precise
Intention
Being
Mean
Really
Serious
Things
Semiotics is a general theory of all existing languages... all forms of communication - visual, tactile, and so on... There is general semiotics, which is a philosophical approach to this field, and then there are many specific semiotics.
Umberto Eco
Communication
Field
Approach
Philosophical
Visual
General
Tactile
Existing
Which
Forms
Then
Languages
Theory
Many
Specific
If people buy my books for vanity, I consider it a tax on idiocy.
Umberto Eco
Buy
People
Consider
Books
Vanity
Idiocy
Tax
Certainly, light fiction exists and encompasses mysteries or second-class romance novels, books that are read on the beach, whose only aim is to entertain. These books are not concerned with style or creativity - instead they are successful because they are repetitive and follow a template that readers enjoy.
Umberto Eco
Creativity
Light
Mysteries
Style
Enjoy
Aim
Books
Entertain
Follow
Beach
Only
Instead
Concerned
Read
Readers
Because
Exists
Repetitive
Romance
Fiction
Successful
Certainly
Novels
Whose
Second-Class
We like lists because we don't want to die.
Umberto Eco
Like
Because
Die
Lists
Want
Our life is full of empty space.
Umberto Eco
Life
Space
Empty Space
Our
Empty
Full
Today, political events are nullified unless they're on TV.
Umberto Eco
Today
Events
Political
Unless
TV
To play the trumpet, you must train your lips for a long time. When I was twelve or thirteen I was a good player, but I lost the skill and now I play very badly. I do it every day even so. The reason is that I want to return to my childhood. For me, the trumpet is evidence of the sort of young man I was.
Umberto Eco
Time
Good
Day
Me
You
Man
Every Day
Long
Long Time
Lost
Young
Every
Evidence
Must
Badly
Return
Sort
Trumpet
Very
Train
Lips
Childhood
Want
Young Man
Skill
Your
Reason
Twelve
Even
Now
Play
Player
Thirteen
Our most noted satirists are true columnists, and their opinions can be worth more than any well-documented expose.
Umberto Eco
Worth
Our
More
True
Most
Opinions
Than
Any
Noted
Expose
I feel that I am a scholar who only with the left hand writes novels.
Umberto Eco
I Am
I Feel
Only
Writes
Scholar
Feel
Am
Hand
Left
Who
Novels
As a scholar I am interested in the philosophy of language, semiotics, call it what you want, and one of the main features of the human language is the possibility of lying.
Umberto Eco
You
I Am
Language
Lying
Philosophy
Possibility
Features
Main
Scholar
Call
Am
Human
Want
Interested
Human Language
We have a limit, a very discouraging, humiliating limit: death.
Umberto Eco
Death
Humiliating
Limit
Discouraging
Very
When the poet is in love, he is incapable of writing poetry on love. He has to write when he remembers that he was in love.
Umberto Eco
Love
Writing
Poet
Poetry
Write
He
Remembers
Incapable
I could work in the shower if I had plastic paper.
Umberto Eco
Work
Paper
Could
Had
Shower
Plastic
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