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The sages were not ashamed
to find themselves convinced;
for they knew, being wise,
that their knowledge was not infinite.

— Juana Inés de la Cruz

No se avergüenzan los Sabios
de mirarse convencidos;
porque saben, como Sabios,
que su saber es finito.

Original text (Spanish)

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Notes from Wikiquote

"Villancico a Catarina," translated from the Spanish by Kate Flores in The Defiant Muse: Hispanic Feminist Poems (1986)

Topics

Wisdom

More quotes by Juana Inés de la Cruz

When each is guilty of sin,
Which is the most to blame:
She who sins for payment,
Or he who pays for the sin?

I do not set store by treasures or riches;
and therefore it always brings me more joy
only to fix riches in my intellect
and never my intellect fix on riches.

O World, why do you wish to persecute me?
How do I offend you, when I intend
only to fix beauty in my intellect,
and never my intellect fix on beauty?

How clear it is they were wise,
when they conceded their defeat,
for it is an achievement to have bowed
to the supremacy of reason!

You foolish men, who accuse
Women without good reason,
You are the cause of what you blame,
Yours the guilt you deny.
If you seek the love of women to win
With ardor beyond compare,
Why require them to be good,
When 'tis you who urge their sin?

All Juana Inés de la Cruz quotes →

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Juana Inés de la Cruz (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.