Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.

The main object of a revolution is the liberation of man, not the interpretation and application of some transcendental ideology.

I began revolution with eighty-two men. If I had to do it again, I do it with ten or fifteen and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action.

Those who give the first shock to a state are the first overwhelmed in its ruin; the fruits of public commotion are seldom enjoyed by him who was the first mover; he only beats the water for another’s net.

Insurgents are like conquerors: they must go forward; the moment they are stopped, they are lost.

An oppressed people are authorized, whenever they can, to rise and break their fetters.

Insurrection of thought always precedes insurrection of arms.

It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.

Governments are not overthrown by the poor, who have no power, but by the rich—when they are insulted by their inferiors and cannot obtain justice.

The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative on the day after the revolution.

Revolutions are not about trifles, but they are produced by trifles. 

All revolutions devour their own children.

The surest guide to the correctness of the path that women take is joy in the struggle. Revolution is the festival of the oppressed.