Wole Soyinka QUOTES

1 " Romance is the sweetening of the soul
With fragrance offered by the stricken heart. "

― Wole Soyinka , The Lion and the Jewel

2 " The fault, of course, is not in religion, but in the fanatic of every religion. Fanaticism remains the greatest carrier of the spores of fear, and the rhetoric of religion, with the hysteria it so readily generates, is fast becoming the readiest killing device of contemporary times. "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

3 " Everything is linked,' said an enraptured Baremboim on stage; 'everyone is linked, all our actions have ramifications, and music is a teacher of this interconnected reality.' There was, however, in the letter a mundane, prosaic footnote that nibbled at the very edges of possible understanding, since understanding must always be preceded by human curiosity. Perhaps it will vanish in the charged space between one suicide bomber and the next military bulldozer that buries human beings alive within the imagined security of their own homes; perhaps it will join other shards of recollected moments of curiosity and discovery, to weld into a vessel of receptivity and response. "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

4 " So, once again, back to the question - just what IS power?
Is it perhaps no more than a deadly mutation of ambition, one that may or may not translate into social activity? Any fool, any moron, any psychopath can aspire to the seizure and exercise of power, and of course the more psychopathic, the more efficient: Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Sergeant Doe and the latest in the line of the unconscionably driven, our own lately departed General Sanni Abacha - all have proved that power, as long as you are sufficiently ruthless, amoral and manipulative, is within the grasp of even the mentally deficient. "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

5 " Power, of course. The primitive fear of being controlled. It does not matter whether it is an invasion from outer space or power wielded from a subterranean command post: some alien force is about to take control on us, to dominate - and, if necessary in the process, to terminate our existence. We never stop to think - or, at best, a secondary consideration is whether such a force might be for the good, that humanity might indeed be improved by such a takeover. Volition, to which we desperately cling, is the very definition of our mature completion as social beings. "

― Wole Soyinka

6 " For now, let us simply observe that the assault on human dignity is one of the prime goals of the visitation of fear, a prelude to the domination of the mind and the triumph of power "

― Wole Soyinka

7 " In one form or the other, the quest for human dignity has proved to be one of the most propulsive elements for wars, civil strife and willing sacrifice. Yet the entitlement to dignity, enshrined among the 'human rights', does not aspire to being the most self-evident, essential need for human survival, such as food, or physical health. Compared to that other candidate for the basic impulse of human existence - self-preservation - it may even be deemed self-indulgent. "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

8 " Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress truth. "

― Wole Soyinka , Selected Poems

9 " For the fire consumes all but the arsonist. "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

10 " the very least we can live with is an agreement that does not reduce us to slaves of imposition, but makes us partners of consent. Yes, we are compelled to make peace, we submit to force majeure, but leave us at least a piece of clothing to cover our nudity. This is the motivation behind every formula of diplomatic contrivance that is sometimes described as face-saving, and wise indeed is the victor who knows that, in order to shield his own rear from the elements, he must not denude his opponents. "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

11 " Sadly, it is within the religious domain that the phenomenon of rhetorical hysteria takes its most devastating form. I am aware that, in some minds, this tends to be regarded as a delicate subject. Let me declare very simply that I do not share such a sentiment. There is nothing in the least delicate about the slaughter of innocents. We all subscribe to the lofty notions contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but, for some reason, become suddenly coy and selective when it comes to defending what is obviously the most elementary of these rights, which is the right to life. One of my all-time favourite lines comes from the black American poet Langston Hughes. It reads, simply, 'There is no lavender word for lynch'. "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

12 " The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism. "

― Wole Soyinka

13 " The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny "

― Wole Soyinka , The Man Died: Prison Notes of Wole Soyinka

14 " If you believe in democracy, are you not thereby obliged to accept, without discrimination, the fall-outs that come with a democratic choice, even if this means the termination of the democratic process itself? "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

15 " Today, the constituency of fear has become much broader, far less selective "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

16 " In any case, the Christian world is not one, neither is the Islamic, nor does their combined authority speak to or for the entire world, but the world of the fanatic IS one and it cuts across all religions, ideologies and vocations. The tributaries that feed the cesspool of fanaticism may ooze from sources separated by history, clime and race, by injustices and numerous privations, but they arrive at the same destination - the zone of unquestioning certitude - sped by a common impetus that licences each to proclaim itself the pure and unsullied among the polluted. The zealot is one that creates a Supreme Being, or Supreme Purpose, in his or her own image, then carries out the orders of that solipsistic device that commands from within, in lofty alienation from, and utter contempt of, society and community. "

― Wole Soyinka , Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

17 " Since I’ve written quite a number of songs for my plays, I would like to be nominated for a Grammy, "

― Wole Soyinka

18 " A tiger doesn't proclaim his tigritude, he pounces "

― Wole Soyinka

19 " Some of us – poets are not exactly poets. We live sometimes – beyond the word. "

― Wole Soyinka

20 " The man dies in all those that keep silent. "

― Wole Soyinka

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