A revolution is not a bed of roses

"Condemn me. It is of no importance. History will absolve me."

"I began the revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I would do it with 10 or 15 and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and a plan of action."

"I'm not thinking of cutting my beard, because I'm accustomed to my beard and my beard means many things to my country. When we fulfil our promise of good government I will cut my beard."

"A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past."

"I reached the conclusion long ago that the one last sacrifice I must make for [Cuban] public health is to stop smoking. I haven't really missed it that much."

"Just imagine what would happen in the world if the socialist community were to disappear ... if this were possible and I don't believe it is possible."

"We do not know anything about this. We, gentlemen, to tell the truth, do not even know what to charge."

"We have to stick to the facts and, simply put, the socialist camp has collapsed."

"One of the greatest benefits of the revolution is that even our prostitutes are college graduates."

"I realised that my true destiny would be the war that I was going to have with the United States."

"Here is a conclusion I've come to after many years: among all the errors we may have committed, the greatest of them all was that we believed that someone ... actually knew how to build socialism. ... Whenever they said. 'That's the formula,' we thought they knew. Just as if someone is a physician."

"I'm really happy to reach 80. I never expected it, not least having a neighbour, the greatest power in the world, trying to kill me every day."

"I will neither aspire to nor accept ... the positions of President of the State Council and Commander in Chief ... It would be a betrayal of my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer."