Quotes by Eco, Umberto

There is a constant in the average American imagination and taste, for >>

There is only one thing that arouses animals more than pleasure, and t >>

I would define the poetic effect as the capacity that a text displays >>

Quotations about Torture

The healthy man does not torture others -- generally it is the torture >>

Man torturing man is a fiend beyond description. You turn a corner in >>

Torment, for some men, is a need, an appetite, and an accomplishment. >>

There is only one thing that arouses animals more than pleasure, and that is pain. Under torture you are as if under the dominion of those grasses that produce visions. Everything you have heard told, everything you have read returns to your mind, as if you were being transported, not toward heaven, but toward hell. Under torture you say not only what the inquisitor wants, but also what you imagine might please him, because a bond (this, truly, diabolical) is established between you and him.

Eco, Umberto