Antonio Gramsci was an intellectual persecuted by Fascism in Italy in the 1930s.
He died as a prisoner in 1937 in a clinic in Rome.
He is considered one of the most important Italian thinkers of the 20th century.
His most morally important work is the ‘Notebooks from Prison’, which he wrote while imprisoned and slowly dying.
“Why have I written all this to you?
So that I may convince you that I have found myself in terrible conditions, without therefore despairing, at other times.
This whole life has strengthened my character.
I have convinced myself that even when all is or seems lost, one must quietly get back to work, starting again from the beginning.
It has convinced me that one must always rely only on oneself and one’s own strength; not to expect anything from anyone and thus not to be disappointed.
That one must only do what one knows and can do and go one’s own way.
My moral position is very good.
I do not want to be a martyr or a hero.
I believe I am simply an average man, who has his deep convictions, and who does not barter them for anything in the world.”
(Antonio Gramsci, from ‘Letters from Prison’)