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Quotes by Uzeyir Hajibeyov
On the
Nature of Man
Courtesy: Hajibeyov Home Museum,
Baku. Director Saadat Garabaghli.
Native Language
"Once they told us that you
should forget your native language and speak only Russian. Now
they tell us that they are going to change our ABC books and
prepare an alphabet based on Russian letters (Cyrillic) for us.
And it's not just this! I'm afraid that next time they'll come
and tell us that we should eat centipede soup instead of egg-plant
dolma. How will it be then?!"
Hero
"If dying is dying, it's better to die a hero than to live
as a slave."
Unwarranted Intrusion
"When is a person like a guest in his own house?
When the police search his house."
Be Foxy
"Whoever is an old fox in this life is happy. You can get
all the difficult things by being an old fox in this life. For
instance, let's say that if you don't call yourself a nationalist
today, you won't be able to earn money. Well, what does it matter,
become a fox and say that you are nationalist! Then you'll have
to be a socialist! Again, become an old fox and say that you're
socialist! Or when you're in a place where you have to take Russians'
side, become an old fox and tell them you'd do anything for them.
And if anybody asks you why you have so many faces, become an
old fox and ask him not to expose it."
Self Reliance
"Everybody in this life has some way to protect himself.
By this means he defeats his enemies. The protection of true
writers is the pen; The protection of imposter writers is curse
words; The protection of the rich is money. A pen can disgrace
a person; curse words can cause trouble; and money can send him
to Siberia..."
The Blind
"Who is unlucky, is it the blind person or the person who
has eyes? Of course, the blind person. The rich are blind, the
poor have eyes. Money makes the rich blind. The rich need the
poor just as the blind need people who have eyes. If people who
have eyes want they can throw the blind into a well. And if the
poor wants, they can throw the rich into a well of misfortune..."
Snobs
"Everybody hates snobs, but everybody always makes way for
them?!"
Culture
"Culture is like a river torrent that can't help but keep
flowing. It will flow and sweep away everything in its path.
Now, if you don't want to be the victim of this culture, you
have to be armed with that culture."
"A gardener who wants to have a beautiful
garden looks for tree from a good species. In the same way, a
person who wants his nation to develop should look for good and
capable people. Like a gardener who takes care of those trees
after he finds them, he should also take care of those people
after he finds them."
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