Quotes from Franz Kafka

Above he could not stop half way, that was nonsense not only in business but always and everywhere. 

Man muß nicht alles für wahr halten, man muß es nur für notwendig halten.

58. Ä°nsan ancak olabildiÄŸince az yalan söylediÄŸinde olabildiÄŸince az yalan söylemiÅŸ olur; yoksa olabildiÄŸince az yalan söyleme f?rsat?n? bulduÄŸunda deÄŸil.

like all living things, he might one day show surprising new capabilities, no matter how harmless he appeared at the moment.

Kaum ist es ein wenig stiller, ist es fast zu still. Als bekäme ich das wahre Gefühl meiner selbst nur, wenn ich unerträglich unglücklich bin. (20.01.1922)

Occasionally I feel an unhappiness which almost dismembers me, and at the same time am convinced of its necessity and of the existence of a goal to which one makes one's way by undergoing every kind of unhappiness.

Ä°ÅŸkence çeken insanl???n zincirleri büro kâ??tlar?ndand?r.

Si le livre que nous lisons ne nous réveille pas d'un coup de poing sur le crâne, à quoi bon le lire ?

Cellat, günümüzde, soylu bir memur deÄŸildir; kamu iÅŸlevinin pragmatik ruhu ona iyi bir maaÅŸ saÄŸlar. Sonuç olarak, her namuslu memurun içinde niçin bir cellat uyuyor olmas?n? […] Onlar [memurlar] canl? ve dönüÅŸebilen varl?klar? ele al?p onlar? ölü ve en ufak dönüÅŸüme müsait olmayan arÅŸiv sicil kay?tlar? haline getirirler.

Wir brauchen aber die Bücher, die auf uns wirken wie ein Unglück, das uns sehr schmerzt, wie der Tod eines, den wie lieber hatten als und, wie wenn wir in Wälder verstoßen würden, von allen Menschen weg, wie ein Selbstmord, ein Buch muss die Axt sein für das gefrorene Meer in uns.

Don't forget Kropotkin!

The original sin, the ancient wrong committed by man, consists in the complaint, which man makes and never ceases making, that a wrong has been done to him, that the original sin was once committed upon him.

Es que era ya una bestia a la que le emocionaba la música? Le parecía como si se le mostrase el camino hacia el desconocido y anhelado alimento.

I'm unpunctual, because I don't feel the pains of waiting. I wait like a cow. For when I feel a purpose, even if a very uncertain one, of my momentary existence, I'm so vain in my weakness that, once this purpose has been set before me, I will gladly tolerate anything for its sake. If I were in love, what I could do then. How long I waited years ago under the arcades on the Ring until M.[380] came by and even if she only passed by with her lover.

One of the first signs of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.

you are the knife I turn inside myself, this is love.

Now, before I go to sleep because it is your wish and because it is so simple, I will whisper in your ear how much I love you

Logic is no doubt unshakable, but it can't withstand a person who wants to live.

I'm restless and poisonous.

It may be possible, I would not know, for a man who has conquered chaos to begin to write; those will be holy books. Or begin to love; that will be love, not fear of chaos...Not until the world has been ordered does the writer begin.

On n'est pas obligé de croire vrai tout ce qu'il dit, il suffit qu'on le tienne pour nécessaire.

Ormanda yolunu yitirmiÅŸ çocuklar gibi terk edilmiÅŸlik içerisindeyiz. Önümde durup bana bakt???nda, ne sen benim içimdeki ac?lar? anlayabiliyorsun, ne de ben seninkileri. Ve senin önünde kendimi yere atsam, aÄŸlasam ve anlatsam bile, biri sana cehennemi s?cak ve korkunçtur diye anlatt???nda cehennem hakk?nda ne bilebilirsen, benim hakk?mda da ancak o kadar?n? bilebilirsin.

Sometimes it's as though I were a gladiator in training. He doesn't know what they have in store for him, but to judge by the training he is being put through, it may be a great battle with all of Rome looking on.

I wouldn't have a thing, not even my name, since I've given that to you as well.