Like the philosopher, the author views his task as one of establishing a clear connection between life and history, and of making the past bear fruit for the present and future.

After closely examining my conscience, I venture to state that in my historical novels I intended the content to be just as modern and up-to-date as in the contemporary ones.

Asking the author of historical novels to teach you about history is like expecting the composer of a melody to provide answers about radio transmission.

I should add that it is open to debate whether what we call the writing of history these days is truly scientific.

Ever since my youth it has disturbed me that of the literary works that survived their own epoch, so many dealt with historical rather than contemporary subjects.

There's only a step from the sublime to the ridiculous, but there's no road leading from the ridiculous to the sublime.

An action doesn't have to be wrong just because it is not logical. It doesn't have to be right just because it has its logic.

What is a historian, anyway? It is someone who uses facts to record the development of humanity.

I have always made an effort to render every detail of my reality with the greatest accuracy; but I have never paid attention to whether my presentation of historical facts was an exact one.

From depicting the past, so goes the suspicion, it is a short step to glorifying the past.

It is only the strong who are strengthened by suffering; the weak are made weaker.

In algorithms, as in life, persistence usually pays off.

You seen it, was it as pretty as me?

I do not read a book; I hold a conversation with the author.

Cuba was in some ways a de facto state of the United States before 1959, given its proximity and given its neocolonial status.

I love the stage. I'm always sniffing around to see if there's something I can squidge in quickly.

Hard work and education will take you farther than any government program can ever promise.

Fortunes gravitate to men whose minds have been prepared to attract them just as surely as water gravitates to the ocean.

My foot, for a football player, is very beautiful!

All roads lead to the earth; the abyss leads to God. Jump!

The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.