# Umberto Eco's most famous quotes

From the rose that remains only as a name to the legions of idiots on social media: Umberto Eco's most quoted lines, from his novels to his newspaper column.

- 6 votes · 12 items
- Nov 7, 2025 · Alessia Lombardo
- https://even.best/en/l/4941/umberto-eco-s-most-famous-quotes

## Top 12

1. **A holy war is still a war. That is why perhaps there should be no holy wars.** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — The Name of the Rose (1980).
2. **A novel is a machine for generating interpretations.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The Name of the Rose (1980).
3. **The Templars always have something to do with it.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Foucault's Pendulum (1988).
4. **You can say the wrong things, as long as the reasons are right.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Foucault's Pendulum (1988).
5. **The rose of old remains only in its name; we hold only naked names.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Name of the Rose (1980).
6. **True love wants the good of the beloved.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Name of the Rose (1980).
7. **Never pretend: everyone will believe you.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Foucault's Pendulum (1988).
8. **That is the beauty of the Internet's anarchy: anyone has the right to display their own irrelevance.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — La bustina di Minerva, his column in L'Espresso.
9. **Why was Napoleon born in Corsica? Because.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — La bustina di Minerva, his column in L'Espresso.
10. **Avoid alliteration, even if it appeals to the asinine.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — La bustina di Minerva, his column in L'Espresso.
11. **Social media give the right to speak to legions of idiots who used to speak only at the bar after two or three glasses of red.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Meeting with journalists at the University of Turin, 10 June 2015.
12. **Nothing gives a fearful man more courage than another's fear.** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — The Name of the Rose (1980).

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.