Quote of the Day- Greek Author Nikos Kazantzakis

Today, we continue quoting people associated with one of the 32 countries competing at the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, which gets underway this week (Perhaps, we should tell Sarah Palin that it's a soccer competition!), with a quote from the late Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957).

Perhaps, his best-known novel is the 1953 epic "The Last Temptation of Christ," which became a 1988 Martin Scorsese movie that Jerry Falwell and his evangelical whacko friends in Lynchburg, Va., didn't care too much for (to put it mildly!).

Kazantzakis, who was born on the island of Crete, missed winning the Nobel Prize in literature to French writer Albert Camus ("The Stranger") in 1957 by just one vote. That also happened to be the year that the Greek author died.

Alas, Greece's main ethnic rival, my beloved Turkey (where my late father hailed from) did not qualify for South Africa so no quotes from the late great Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet this go-around, but we will have quotes from other international figures on both of our blogs. Today, we will also be quoting German novelist Gunter Grass ("The Tin Drum") on our sister blog.

Undoubtedly, many folks in Tarpon Springs, Fla. (near Tampa), which has a very large Greek community will be rooting for the Greek soccer team though one of their first-round opponents is traditional futbol power Argentina.

Here is the quote from Kazantzakis (wow, I thought Turkish names were hard to spell!):

"I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free."