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Who really said it

At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love

Written by Che Guevara 1928–1967 · Argentine-born revolutionary, a leader of the Cuban Revolution
Verified In copyright

From Guevara’s essay-letter Socialism and Man in Cuba, published in the Montevideo weekly Marcha on 12 March 1965. Checked against the Spanish original and the Ocean Press English translation, which reads “great feelings of love.” The popular singular “a great feeling of love” is a one-word drift.

Last verified 2 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Verified quote & credit

“At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love” Che Guevara, "Socialism and Man in Cuba," Marcha, 12 March 1965 (Ocean Press translation) · Verbatim: “At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.”

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Ocean Press (English translation); the Spanish original is Guevara’s 1965 text). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

Evoking the world of Che Guevara — Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary, a leader of the Cuban Revolution. Theme: "At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Provenance

The documented source

Work
Socialism and Man in Cuba (El socialismo y el hombre en Cuba)
First published
Marcha (Montevideo), 12 March 1965, as “From Algiers, for Marcha. The Cuban Revolution Today”
Original language
Spanish: “Déjeme decirle, a riesgo de parecer ridículo, que el revolucionario verdadero está guiado por grandes sentimientos de amor.”
Translation
Ocean Press, as given on marxists.org (credited to The Che Reader, © 2005)

At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality. Perhaps it is one of the great dramas of the leader that he or she must combine a passionate spirit with a cold intelligence and make painful decisions without flinching. Ocean Press translation

The popular version changes “great feelings of love” to “a great feeling of love.” The Spanish has the plural, “grandes sentimientos de amor.” The surrounding passage is about what the revolution costs its leaders.

Socialism and Man in Cuba (marxists.org, Ocean Press translation)

How we verified this

  • The Spanish original, El socialismo y el hombre en Cuba ↗, has “Déjeme decirle, a riesgo de parecer ridículo, que el revolucionario verdadero está guiado por grandes sentimientos de amor.” A note on the page says Carlos Quijano published the letter in Marcha on 12 March 1965.
  • The Ocean Press translation on marxists.org ↗ reads “At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.” That is the popular wording except for the plural.
  • An alternate translation by Margarita Zimmermann ↗ renders the same sentence as “Let me say, with the risk of appearing ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by strong feelings of love.”
  • Wikiquote ↗ lists the line under “Man and Socialism in Cuba (1965)” with the singular “a great feeling of love,” while linking the Ocean Press text, which says “feelings.”
In copyright

Guevara wrote the sentence in Spanish in 1965. The English wording here follows the Ocean Press translation, which marxists.org credits ↗ to The Che Reader, © 2005. That makes the translation a modern, in-copyright rendering. The 1965 original is also too recent to be safely treated as public domain.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

Right author, slightly wrong words

Unlike many lines pinned on Guevara, this one is genuine. What drifts is the English: there are several translations, and the most-shared version doesn’t match any of the ones checked here word for word.

“guided by a great feeling of love” one-word drift

The Ocean Press translation ↗ says “great feelings of love,” and the Spanish ↗ has the plural “grandes sentimientos de amor.” The singular turns up in retellings, including Wikiquote ↗.

“guided by strong feelings of love” different translator

The Margarita Zimmermann translation ↗ opens “Let me say, with the risk of appearing ridiculous…” and uses “strong feelings of love.” It is the same sentence, translated differently, not a different quote.

Guevara wrote it in Socialism and Man in Cuba (Marcha, 12 March 1965): “Déjeme decirle, a riesgo de parecer ridículo, que el revolucionario verdadero está guiado por grandes sentimientos de amor” (Spanish text ↗).

Context

Why the line is remembered

The sentence comes from a long letter to Carlos Quijano, editor of the Uruguayan weekly Marcha. In it, Guevara argues that socialism must create a “new man.” The love passage sits in his account of the revolutionary vanguard. He says a leader must “combine a passionate spirit with a cold intelligence and make painful decisions without flinching,” and that leaders give up ordinary family life to the revolution.

That pairing of love with cold, painful decisions is why the line keeps being argued over. A UMass open textbook ↗ sets it against the Cuban revolutionaries’ public executions and asks students to explain the phrase “great feelings of love.”

The true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Love Justice Leadership

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Socialism and Man in Cuba (Ocean Press translation)marxists.org

Full English text with publication details. Contains the “great feelings of love” sentence.
El socialismo y el hombre en Cuba (Spanish original)marxists.org

Guevara’s original Spanish text, with a note on its 12 March 1965 publication in Marcha.
Alternate translation (Margarita Zimmermann)marxists.org

A second English translation of the same passage, using “strong feelings of love.”
Che Guevara on Wikiquoteen.wikiquote.org

Lists the line under “Man and Socialism in Cuba (1965)” in the popular singular wording.
Love and Executions: Che Guevara exercisesopenbooks.library.umass.edu

University teaching material that quotes the line and sets it against the revolution’s executions.

The author

About Che Guevara

Che Guevara

1928–1967 · Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary, a leader of the Cuban Revolution

Ernesto “Che” Guevara was an Argentine-born doctor who became a guerrilla commander in the Cuban Revolution and then held senior posts in Fidel Castro’s government. His 1965 essay Socialism and Man in Cuba sets out his idea of the “new man” that socialism was supposed to create. He was killed in Bolivia in October 1967.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source

Guevara, Ernesto Che. “Socialism and Man in Cuba.” Marcha (Montevideo), 12 March 1965. English translation in The Che Reader (Melbourne: Ocean Press, 2005), via marxists.org.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love’?” Last verified 2 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/at-the-risk-of-seeming-ridiculous-let-me-say-that-the-true/

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