Bless Me, Ultima Quotes

“I made strength from everything that had happened to me, so that in the end even the final tragedy could not defeat me. And that is what Ultima tried to teach me, that the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart. --Antonio”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“It is because good is always stronger than evil. Always remember that, Antonio. The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Understanding comes with life. As a man grows he sees life and death, he is happy and sad, he works, plays, meets people - sometimes it takes a lifetime to acquire understanding, because in the end understanding simply means having sympathy for people. ”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“It seemed the more I knew about people the more I knew about the strange magic hidden in their hearts.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Ultima came to stay with us the summer I was almost seven. When she came the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth. The magical time of childhood stood still, and the pulse of the living earth pressed its mystery into my living blood.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her [Ultima] I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“I think that if there is a hell it's just a place where you're left all alone, with nobody around you. Man, when you're alone you don't have to burn, just being by yourself for all of time would be the worst punishment the Old Man could give you”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“The sun was good. The men of the llano were men of the sun. The men of the farms along the river were men of the moon. But we were all children of the white sun.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“The germ of creation lies in violence.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“There are many gods . . . gods of beauty and magic, gods of the garden, gods in our own backyards, but we go off to foreign countries to find new ones, we reach to the stars to find new ones--. . . . The god of the church is a jealous god; he cannot live in peace with other gods.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“The body is not important. It is made of dust; it is made of ashes. It is food for the worms. The winds and the waters dissolve it and scatter it to the four corners of the earth. In the end, what we care most for lasts only a brief lifetime, then there is eternity. Time forever. Millions of worlds are born, evolve, and pass away into nebulous, unmeasured skies; and there is still eternity. Time always. The body becomes dust and trees and exploding fire, it becomes gaseous and disappears, and still there is eternity. Silent, unopposed, brooding, forever… But the soul survives. The soul lives on forever. It is the soul that must be saved, because the soul endures.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“A [real] man does not flee from truth”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Sometimes a man has to cry. Even if he is a man.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Any land will flow with milk and honey if it is worked with honest hands!”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Perhaps the best god would be like a woman, because only women really knew how to forgive.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Good is always stronger than evil. Always remember that...The smallest bit of good can stand against the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“The orange of the golden carp appeared at the edge of the pond. . . . We watched in silence at the beauty and grandeur of the great fish. Out of the corners of my eyes I saw Cico hold his hand to his breast as the golden carp glided by. Then with a switch of his powerful tail the golden carp disappeared into the shadowy water under the thicket.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“I had seen beauty, but the beauty had burdened me with responsibility.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Where did you get Ultima’s name?” many ask me. “That was her name when she came to me,” I answer. From that first fortuitous meeting I have trained myself to act as a dream catcher. I don’t seek characters, they seem to come to me asking me to tell their stories.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“And that is what Ultima tried to teach me, that the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“The gaze of her clear eyes held them transfixed. “You must understand that when anybody, bruja or curandera, priest or sinner, tampers with the fate of a man that sometimes a chain of events is set into motion over which no one will have ultimate control. You must be willing to accept this responsibility.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Take life's experiences and build strength from them, not weaknesses.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Economically, New Mexico ranks low, but we know the real treasure lies in the people, the landscape, and the history of its many communities. Here, people have struggled and survived for years, and they have not lost sight of the prize. We believe our region is a spiritual corridor; the earth nurtures us, and our deities can be invoked for the good of the community. Here, Native Americans have been saying prayers and keeping the world in balance for thousands of years. It's difficult to make a living here, but beneath the daily struggle there exists a fulfilling spiritual sense. This is sacred space for us.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Ay, every generation, every man is a part of his past. He cannot escape it, but he may reform the old materials, make something new”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“But in the end, magic is magic, and one does not explain it so easily. That is why it is magic. To the child it is natural, but as for the grown man it loses its naturalness-- so as old men we see a different reality. And when we dream it is usually for a lost childhood, or trying to change someone, and that is not good. So, in the end, I accept reality-”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Why are they like that?” I asked Cico. We skirted Blue Lake and worked our way through the tall, golden grass to the creek. “I don’t know,” Cico answered, “except that people, grown-ups and kids, seem to want to hurt each other—and it’s worse when they’re in a group.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant. There is no need to fear men like Tenorio.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“I asked Go to answer my questions, but the only sound was always the whistling of the wind filling the empty space.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“I wonder what the years have gathered in the bags. I bet it's like looking through old trunks, old letters and photographs, an old shoe or two.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima

“Even after the big rancheros and the tejanos came and fenced the beautiful llano, he and those like him continued to work there, I guess because only in that wide expanse of land and sky could they feel the freedom their spirits needed.”
― Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima