"I can’t think why Delio has not been told that I’m in prison, and why no one reflected that he might then find out about it indirectly, that is, in the most disagreeable way for a child, who then begins to doubt the truthfulness of those educating him, to think about it on his own account and draw apart. At least, that was my experience as a child: I remember it perfectly . . . I believe in treating children as rational creatures with whom it is possible to discuss even the most serious matters. This makes a very profound impression on them, it strengthens their character and above all it avoids leaving their development at the mercy of random environmental pressures and casual, impersonal encounters. It really is very strange how grown-ups forget they were children themselves, and make no use of their own experiences. For my part, I recall vividly how offended I was at every discovery of a subterfuge, even if it was meant to keep painful facts from me, and how this shut me up within myself and made me withdraw."

“oftentimes prison writing is described as that which is produced in prison or by prisoners, and certainly Gramsci's prison notebooks provide the most interesting example.”

“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.”

“The long march through the institutions.”

“To tell the truth is revolutionary.”

“Che cosa è la massoneria? Voi avete fatto molte parole sul suo significato spirituale, sulle correnti ideologiche che essa rappresenta; ma tutte queste sono forme di espressione di cui voi vi servite solo per ingannarvi reciprocamente, sapendo di farlo. [...] la massoneria è stato l'unico partito reale ed efficiente che la classe borghese ha avuto per lungo tempo. [...] L'onorevole Martire ha oggi dichiarato che finalmente è stata raggiunta, alle spese della Massoneria, l'Unità Spirituale della Nazione Italiana. Poiché la Massoneria in Italia ha rappresentato l'ideologia e l'organizzazione reale della classe borghese capitalistica, chi è contro la Massoneria è contro il liberalismo, è contro la tradizione politica della borghesia italiana. [...] In realtà il fascismo lotta contro la sola forza organizzata efficiente che la borghesia capitalistica avesse in Italia, [...]. (La legge sulle associazioni segrete).”

“Every social stratum has its own "common sense" which is ultimately the most widespread conception of life and morals. Every philosophical current leaves a sedimentation of "common sense": this is the document of its historical reality. Common sense is not something rigid and static; rather, it changes continuously, enriched by scientific notions and philosophical opinions which have entered common usage. "Common sense" is the folklore of philosophy and stands midway between "folklore" proper (that is, as it is understood) and the philosophy, the science, the economics of the scholars. "Common sense" creates the folklore of the future, that is a more or less rigidified phase of popular knowledge a certain time and place.”