A great nation is not built on wealth, but on wisdom and righteousness.

Every struggle is a battle between light and darkness, and it is up to us to choose the path of light.

Let us work together for a better tomorrow, for we hold the future in our hands.

Freedom is not just a privilege, it is a responsibility.

Our actions are the true measure of our beliefs.

Justice is not a luxury; it is a right.

The light of truth can never be extinguished by darkness.

The strength of a people lies in their unity, not in their division.

No one is truly free until all are free.

Life without liberty is like a body without a soul.

Knowledge is the foundation of liberty and progress.

An enlightened mind can free itself from chains that bind.

The world laughs at another man’s pain.

Virtue lies in the middle ground.

Spain, must we some day tell Filipinas that thou hast no ear for her woes and that if she wishes to be saved she must redeem herself?

The true purpose of life is not to make money but to make an impact.

The greatest obstacle to progress is not ignorance but indifference.

Dying people don’t need medicine, the ones who remain do.

A stone is broken by the last stroke of the hammer.

Perhaps the great American Republic, whose interests lie in the Pacific and who has no hand in the spoliation of Africa, may someday dream of foreign possession.

A man’s worth does not lie in his station, but in his actions.

In order to change the world, you must change yourself first.

I honor the father in his son, not the son in his father. Each one receives a reward or punishment for his deeds, but not for the acts of others.

The most ambitious project is to detach yourself from yourself in order to be united with God.

China will consider herself fortunate if she succeeds in keeping herself intact and is not dismembered or partitioned among the European powers that are colonizing the continent of Asia.

Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act.

Tomorrow at 7, I shall be shot; but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion. I am going to die with a tranquil conscience.

Is it not sad, I said to my countrymen, that we have to learn from a foreigner about ourselves? Thanks to the German scholars we get accurate information about ourselves, and when everything in our country has been destroyed and we wish to verify the historical correctness of certain facts we shall have to come to Germany to search for these facts, in German museums and books!

A grave sin that can be committed against a human being is to hurt his self-respect.

My mother is not a woman of ordinary culture. She knows literature and speaks Spanish better than I do. She even corrected my poems and gave me advice when I was studying rhetoric.

The aim of life is to live with dignity, not to merely survive.

Climate affects bipeds in the same way it does quadrupeds.

How long have you been away from the country?” Laruja asked Ibarra. “Almost seven years.” “Then you have probably forgotten all about it.” “Quite the contrary. Even if my country does seem to have forgotten me, I have always thought about it.

The Philippines, owing to its geographical position and the character of its numerous inhabitants, can be held by a handful of men.

When there is in nature no fixed condition, how much less must there be in the life of a people, beings endowed with mobility and movement!

Love of country, love of family, and love of fellow man are the true virtues of the Filipino.

It is not the criminals who arouse the hatred of others, but the men who are honest.

Travel is a caprice in childhood, a passion in youth, a necessity in manhood, and an elegy in old age.

The love of books is among the choicest gifts of the gods.

There now exists a factor which was formerly lacking – the spirit of the nation has been aroused, and a common misfortune, a common debasement, has united all the inhabitants of the Islands.

The law is reason, free from passion.

Man works for an object. Remove that object and you reduce him into inaction.

Necessity is the most powerful divinity the world knows—it is the result of physical forces set in operation by ethical forces.

The most terrible wars are those waged in the name of a religion. For 150 years the Spanish Catholics and the Dutch Protestants drenched with blood and poison their differences.

It is probable that England will look favorably upon the independence of the Philippines, for it will open their ports to her and afford greater freedom to her commerce.

I love my country with all my heart, but my love for humanity comes first.

Each one writes history according to his convenience.

She was white, perhaps too white. Her eyes, which were almost always cast down, when she raised them testified to the purest of souls, and when she smiled, revealing her small, white teeth, one might be tempted to say that a rose is merely a plant, and ivory just an elephant’s tusk.

Men are born and are always children of the country where they were born until they renounce their nationality.

Routine is a declivity down which many governments slide, and routine says that freedom of the press is dangerous.

There is no such thing as a perfect society, but we can strive for the betterment of it.

The example could encourage others who only fear to start.

To the questioning glance of love, as it flashes out and then conceals itself, speech has no reply; the smile, the kiss, the sigh answer.

Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.

Since it is necessary to grant six million Filipinos their rights, so that they may be in fact Spaniards, let the government grant these rights freely and spontaneously, without damaging reservations, without irritating mistrust.

The people are the strongest force in any revolution.

To be happy does not mean to indulge in foolishness!

To doubt God is to doubt one’s own conscience, and in consequence it would be to doubt everything.

The value and worth of a man do not lie in what he has, but in what he is.

I have recommended in my writings the study of civic virtues, without which there is no redemption. I have written likewise (and repeat my words) that reforms, to be beneficial, must come from above, that those which come from below are irregularly gained and uncertain.

I have lived in the midst of the poor, and to this day, I think of them as the first to be given attention.

He who would love much has also much to suffer.

Today is Christmas Eve. Whether or not Christ was born exactly on this date is not important. But chronological accuracy has nothing to do with tonight’s event. A grand genius had been born who preached truth and love; who suffered because of his mission; and on account of his sufferings the world has become better, if not saved. Only it gives me nausea to see how some people abuse his name to commit numerous crimes. If he is in heaven, he will certainly protest!

To be silent is to suffer.

I may be what my enemies desire me to be, yet never an accusation are they able to hurl against me which makes me blush or lower my forehead; and I hope that God will be merciful enough with me, to prevent me from committing one of those faults which would involve my family.

Let us be part of the solution, not the problem.

Law has no skin, reason has no nostrils.

Man is multiplied by the number of languages he possesses and speaks.

Orientals, and the Malays in particular, are a sensitive people: delicacy of sentiment is predominant with them.

The most important condition in the life of a man is obedience to a superior will.

It is a mistake to think that only kings and princes are capable of making great sacrifices.

It is enough for the evil people to succeed, for the good people to do nothing.

I don’t see why I should bow my head when I could hold it high, or place it in the hands of my enemies when I can defeat them.

The greatest contribution of my country is in the introduction of Christianity.

Wealth brings with it refinement, the spirit of conservation, while poverty inspires adventurous ideas, the desire to change things, and has little care for life.

A fool is a man who can’t see beyond his own nose.

Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so he is; a man who does not think for himself and allows himself to be guided by the thought of another is like the beast led by a halter.

Friar! What a strange name. I don’t remember having created such a thing! (God speaking to the angel Gabriel).

I have always loved my poor afflicted country, and I am sure I shall love her until death.

Experience has everywhere shown us, and especially in the Philippines, that the classes which are better off have always been addicted to peace and order because they live comparatively better and may be the losers in civil disturbances.

To forewarn is to forearm.

No good water comes from a muddy spring. No sweet fruit comes from a bitter seed.

I want to show to those who deprive people the right to love of country, that when we know how to sacrifice ourselves for our duties and convictions, death does not matter.

It was a world which granted privileges to some and imposed prohibitions on others… Endowed with strength and eager to learn, one had to drag himself in a narrow prison cell when he could see an open field, a vast horizon in the distance; when he could feel the beatings of a heart; and when he believed himself entitled to enjoy the beauty of a dream.

The batteries are gradually becoming charged, and if the prudence of the government does not provide an outlet for the currents that are accumulating, some day the spark will be generated.

There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves.

Treat your old parents as you would like to be treated by your children later.

Genius has no country. It blossoms everywhere. Genius is like the light, the air. It is the heritage of all.

The glory of saving a country is not just for one person alone, but for a whole people.

As God has not made anything useless in this world, as all beings fulfill obligations or a role in the sublime drama of Creation, I cannot exempt from this duty, and small though it be, I too have a mission to fill, as for example: alleviating the sufferings of my fellowmen.

I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land. You who have it to see, welcome it and forget not those who have fallen during the night.

I want to show to those who deprive people the right to love of country, that when we know how to sacrifice ourselves for our duties and convictions, death does not matter if one dies for those one loves – for his country and for others dear to him.

Death has always been the first sign of European civilization when introduced in the Pacific.

To foretell the destiny of a nation, it is necessary to open the book that tells of her past.

The Filipino embraces civilization and lives and thrives in every clime, in contact with every people.

The Philippines is my country, and it is the only place I want to live and die.

No one blames a pilot who takes refuge in port when the storm begins to blow. It is not cowardice to duck under a bullet; what is wrong is to defy it only to fall and never rise again.

One only dies once, and if one does not die well, a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again.

Justice is the foremost virtue of the civilizing races. It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest.

He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination.

I want to show to the world that I am a man who loves justice and peace.

On this battlefield man has no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force but his heart.

It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal.

Why independence? If the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow.

I do not write for this generation. I am writing for other ages. If this could read me, they would burn my books, the work of my whole life. On the other hand, the generation which interprets these writings will be an educated generation; they will understand me and say: ‘Not all were asleep in the nighttime of our grandparents.’

He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish.

I have to believe much in God because I have lost my faith in man.

While a people preserves its language; it preserves the marks of liberty.

To foretell the destiny of a nation, it is necessary to open a book that tells of her past.

The youth is the hope of our future.