Next to the Bible and the Quran, Don Quixote, the timeless classic by Miguel de Cervantes, has sold the most copies. And rightly so because it continues to inspire readers and provoke thought decades after it was published.
Readers around the world continue to seek out the wisdom within its pages, searching for insights on life, truth, and bravery. In this article, we’ve curated the best Don Quixote quotes and dug deeper into their context and meanings.
We hope they inspire you no matter where you are in life right now.
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
Table of Contents
What is Don Quixote About?
Often hailed as one of the greatest literary works ever written, Don Quixote was a masterpiece by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 17th century. A tale that has stood the test of time, it continues to entertain and enlighten readers for over 400 years.
The novel chronicles the story of Alonso Quixano, a man who reinvented himself to Don Quixote. After reading too many romance novels, he decides to become a knight and is determined to prove his chivalry. Together with his loyal squire, Sancho Panza, he went on an adventure of a lifetime, naively convinced to live his destiny to revive chivalry and right the wrongs in the world. Despite his good intentions, his skewed perception of reality leads to many humorous and poignant moments.
Cervantes masterfully blends comedy and tragedy, making readers laugh at Don Quixote’s misadventures while also feeling sympathy for his earnestness and idealism. The themes of the novel are rich and varied, exploring the nature of reality, the importance of dreams, and the conflict between idealism and pragmatism.
The Profound Wisdom of Don Quixote
The wisdom in Don Quixote is profound, often wrapped in humor and satire. Cervantes uses the character of Don Quixote to explore deep philosophical and moral lessons. Through his misguided adventures and interactions with those he meets, Don Quixote offers insights into the human condition.
Don Quixote’s unwavering belief in his chivalric ideals, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, teaches us about the power of conviction and the importance of holding onto our dreams. His relationship with Sancho Panza, a practical and earthy foil to his idealism, highlights the value of balance between dreams and reality.
By watching Don Quixote navigate his world, readers gain a deeper understanding of their own lives and the world around them.
Top 10 Don Quixote Quotes and Their Meanings
Here are ten of the best Don Quixote quotes from the book:
1. A longer version of this quote, “When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”. It reflects the blurred lines between sanity and insanity, urging us to question what is truly normal in a world that often seems mad.
“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?”
– Don Quixote
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2. This quote emphasizes the resilience of truth, suggesting that no matter how distorted truth becomes, it will always prevail over falsehood. Truth, no matter the situation, will always reveal its unbreakable and enduring nature.
“The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies, as oil floats on water.”
– Don Quixote
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3.This famous line reminds us that the experiences we gather along the way are more valuable than reaching the destination. It highlights the importance of the adventures, challenges, and lessons learned because they shape our character and make getting to the end point far more rewarding.
“The journey is better than the inn.”
– Don Quixote
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4. Among the best Don Quixote quotes, this one is a personal favorite. It’s concise yet powerful, speaking about the importance of living life to the fullest, and embracing every moment while we still can. Every second we are alive is part of our story, a reminder to find meaning and joy in everyday life so we can make the most of our journey.
“Until death it is all life.”
– Don Quixote
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5. In this quote, Don Quixote emphasizes the importance of perseverance, suggesting that the most irrational action one can take is to give up on life. He underscores the value of enduring through hardships and continuing to live, regardless of the challenges faced.
“Take my advice and live for a long, long time because the maddest thing a man can do in this life is to let himself die.”
– Don Quixote
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6Cervantes champions the idea that every piece of literature, even flawed or poorly written, contains some valuable insight. This perspective encourages us to approach all texts with an open mind and a willingness to find the good within them.
“There is no book so bad…that it does not have something good in it.”
– Don Quixote
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7. This quote exemplifies the courage and stoicism expected of knights, showcasing Don Quixote’s unwavering commitment to his chivalric ideals. If you decide to be a knight, you must be willing to endure immense pain and suffering without complaint, embodying the virtues of bravery and resilience.
“A knight-errant must not complain of his wounds, though his bowels be dropping out.”
– Don Quixote
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8. Another personal favorite because this is a quote that emphasizes the paramount importance of courage in our lives. Wealth and friendship are significant, but without courage, everything else becomes meaningless. We lose our ability to face challenges and live life to the fullest.
“He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he that loses his courage loses all.”
– Don Quixote
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9. A poignant acknowledgement of the harsh reality of life. That the virtuous struggle more and suffer at the hands of the wicked because they do not share their values. The wicked actively seek to undermine goodness, often with more fervor, revealing a disheartening imbalance in societal dynamics.
“Virtue is persecuted by the wicked more than it is loved by the good.”
– Don Quixote
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10. This one needs no explanation. Whether you like it or not, the truth is the truth.
“In short, the truth is the truth, and that’s the end of it.”
– Don Quixote
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More Inspiring Don Quixote Quotes
This classic book is a treasure trove of memorable quotes. So, here are 20 more inspiring and hilarious Don Quixote quotes from the book:
1. “Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
2. “There were no embraces, because where there is great love there is often little display of it.”
3. “Hunger is the best sauce in the world.”
4. “For neither good nor evil can last forever; and so it follows that as evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand.”
5. “What man can pretend to know the riddle of a woman’s mind?”
6. “I do not deny that what happened to us is a thing worth laughing at. But it is not worth telling, for not everyone is sufficiently intelligent to be able to see things from the right point of view.”
7. “Wit and humor do not reside in slow minds.”
8. “The most perceptive character in a play is the fool, because the man who wishes to seem simple cannot possibly be a simpleton.”
9. “The wounds received in battle bestow honor, they do not take it away.”
10. “A tooth is much more to be prized than a diamond.”
11. “The fault lies not with the mob, who demands nonsense, but with those who do not know how to produce anything else.”
12. “She wanted, with her fickleness, to make my destruction constant; I want, by trying to destroy myself, to satisfy her desire.”
13. “What is more dangerous than to become a poet? which is, as some say, an incurable and infectious disease.”
14. “Where there’s music, there can be no evil.”
15. “One man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars, and the world will be better for this.”
16. “The greatest madness a man can be guilty of in this life, is to let himself die outright, without being slain by any person whatever, or destroyed by any other weapon than the hands of melancholy.”
17. “Laughter distances us from that which is ugly and therefore potentially distressing, and indeed enables us to obtain paradoxical pleasure and therapeutic benefit from it.”
18. I have never died all my life.”
19. “He is most blessed who loves the most, the freest who is most enslaved by love.”
20. “One man is no more than another, if he do no more than what another does.”
Getting Inspiration from Don Quixote
In a world that grows more chaotic and unpredictable by the day, we can find comfort in books like Don Quixote.His determination and unwavering belief in his ideals and dreams are worth emulating.
Don Quixote’s timeless wisdom offers us a much-needed inspiration, a solid reminder to live life fully, cherish the little moments and be a little braver. The journey may take a while. There will be twists and turns, challenges and uncertainties but it’s what makes the process sweeter.
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