I happen to be pretty productive when I am in jail. When you are in jail, you have to spend more time with yourself.

Life can give everything to whoever tries to understand and is willing to receive new knowledge.

An educated person must learn to act justly, beginning, first of all, with his thoughts, then later in his deeds. That is what it means to be educated.

It's proper that people have friends, friendships without self-interest. Without friends, life is too lonely.

You must first of all think justly. Don’t sit in judgment over others when you don’t know the truth of the matter.

My words, my writing, my actions—these have never been for myself alone, either directly or indirectly. There is no such thing as an artist who creates art only for himself. That is masturbation.

Let us see whether it is the New Order or me who will be the loser before Indonesian history. I have won. The New Order has fallen and my writings have been translated into 40 languages.

Painting is literature in colors. Literature is painting in language.

The love I knew was from books.

Every book that is banned is a badge of honor.

I'll do as I please. My mind is not to be imprisoned.

Existence was not only absurd, it was plain hard work. Think of how many times you put on your underwear in a lifetime. It was appalling, it was disgusting, it was stupid.

We've been in a war and a recession. That's why acccent colors with yellow and purple are popular. They're optimistic and flirty and happy colors.

War may be made by one party, but it requires two to make peace.

I don't think I've ever read poetry, ever. I'm not really book-smart.

I didn't want to be a priest. I wanted to do the work that priests do, and that required becoming a priest.

My brain doesn't like to be quiet.

We are about to be attacked by Al Qaeda. Wave flags if you have them. That always seems to scare them away. I'm kidding.

Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.

There is nothing but is related to us, nothing that does not interest us,--kingdom, college, tree, horse, or iron show,--the rootsof all things are in man.

Guilt is also a way for us to express to others that we are a person of good conscience.