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Government must originate in the country. The spirit of government must be that of the country Its structure must conform to rules appropriate to the country. Good government is nothing more than the balance of the country's natural elements.

— José Martí Our America (1891)

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More quotes by José Martí

Mankind is composed of two sorts of men — those who love and create, and those who hate and destroy.

Letter to a Cuban Farmer (1893)

A nation is not a complex of wheels, nor a wild horse race, but a stride upward concerted by real men.

A Glance at the North American's Soul Today (1886)

In night's darkness I've seen
raining down on my head
pure flames, flashing rays
of beauty divine.

Simple Verses (1891)

Once I reveled in a destiny
like no other joy I'd known:
when the warden — reading
my death sentence — wept.

Simple Verses (1891)

All is beautiful and unceasing,
all is music and reason,
and all, like diamond,
is carbon first, then light.

Simple Verses (1891)

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Attribution

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