Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez has imparted many words of wisdom upon his readers throughout his career -- and what better way to celebrate his 87th birthday than with some of the novelist's best quotes.
An icon in the magical realism genre, Márquez has left his mark in Literature with classics such as Love in the Time of Cholera, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and more. Gabo won the Nobel Literature Prize in 1982 for his work and continued to publish after the honor.
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In 2012, Márquez's brother confirmed that the legendary novelist has been suffering from senile dementia "for a long time" though he was physically well. Many believe Gabo will never publish again and others continue to re-read his most memorable works.
In honor of Gabo's birthday, take a look at some of his wisest words:
"No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing." -- From Love in the Time of Cholera
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Portrait of Colombian author and journalist Gabriel Garcia Marquez. May 1972. (Photo by Katherine Young/Getty Images)Quote Source
"Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers and how one remembers it in order to recount it."-- From his autobiography Living To Tell The Tale
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Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez answers journalists' questions aftre having been announced as winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, 25 October 1982 in Mexico City. (HASSE PERSSON/AFP/Getty Images)Quote Source
"He who awaits much can expect little" -- From No One Writes To The Colonel
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Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez (L), awarded with the Nobel Literature Prize, shakes hands with French writer Regis Debray (R) while French Danielle Mitterrand, the wife of French President Frantois Mitterrand, looks on, 13 December 1982 in Stockholm. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STF/AFP/Getty Images)Quote Source
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"A person doesn't die when he should but when he can." -- From One Hundred Years of Solitude
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A young Mexican sitting in a cafe reads a newspaper which offers a special supplement dedicated to Colombian writer and Nobel Prize in Literature 1982 Gabriel Garcia Marquez in the day of his 80th anniversary, 06 March, 2007 in Mexico City. AFP PHOTO/ Ronaldo SCHEMIDT (Photo credit should read Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images)Quote Source
“Sex is the consolation you have when you can’t have love.” -- From Memories Of My Melancholy Whores
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Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez acknowledges after receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature 10 December 1982 in Stockholm. AFP PHOTO BERTIL ERICSON (Photo credit should read BERTIL ERICSON/AFP/Getty Images)Quote Source
"I discovered to my joy, that it is life, not death, that has no limits." -- From Love in the Time of Cholera
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Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Colombian Gabriel Garcia Marquez shows his award to the audience, following the presentation in the Concert Hall, Stockholm, Oct. 12, 1982. (AP Photo/Pool)Quote Source
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"No medicine cures what happiness cannot." -- From Of Love and Other Demons
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Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez is all smiles after the announcement that he was awarded with the Nobel Prize for Literature 19 October 1982 in Mexico City. (Photo credit should read STEFAN WALLGREN/AFP/Getty Images)Quote Source
"A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father." -- From Love in the Time of Cholera
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Literature Nobel Price Colombian Gabriel Garcia Marquez takes part in the Chair Julio Cortazar of the University of Guadalajara in Guadalajara Mexico, 23 November 2007. AFP PHOTO/Ivan GarciaQuote source
"Freedom is often the first casualty of war." -- From The General In His Labyrinth
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize-winning athor, seen in this 1982 file photo, had a cancerous tumor removed from his lung Thursday, according to doctor at the Santa Fe Foundation Clinic in Bogota, Colombia. A statement from the clinic said the prognosis was but gave few details. Garcia Marquez, 65, won the Nobel prize for Leteratur in 1982. (AP-Photo) 1982
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“Wisdom comes to us when it can no longer do any good.” -- From Love In The Time Of Cholera
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Former US President Bill Clinton (R) speaks with Colombian writer and 1982 Literature Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez during the IV International Congress of the Spanish Language 26 March 2007 in Cartagena, Colombia. (Photo by Cesar CARRION-PRESIDENCIA/AFP/Getty Images)Quote Source
“There is always something left to love.” -- From One Hundred Years Of Solitude
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Colombian writer and Nobel prize in literature winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez poses for a portrait session on February 20,1991 in Cartagena, Colombia. (Photo by Ulf Andersen/Getty Images)Quote Source