Quotes from Franz Kafka

Der Vergleich von dem Sperling in der Hand und der Taube auf dem Dach paßt hier nur sehr entfernt. In der Hand habe ich nichts, auf dem Dach ist alles und doch muß ich –so entscheiden es die Kampfverhältnisse und die Lebensnot– das Nicht wählen.

Wir wurden geschaffen, um im Paradies zu leben, das Paradies war bestimmt, uns zu dienen. Unsere Bestimmung ist geändert worden; daß dies auch mit des Bestimmung des Paradieses geschehen wäre, wird nicht gesagt.

Me avergoncé de mí mismo cuando me di cuenta de que la vida era una fiesta de disfraces; y yo asistía con mi rostro real

Who dared to assail him in his own home? He was always inclined to take things as lightly as possible, to believe the worst only when the worst happened, and not to worry about the future, even if there were threats on the horizon. But that didn't seem right here. You could look at the whole thing as a joke, a bad joke, which for unlnown reasons, perhaps because it was his thirtieth birthday today, his colleagues at the bank had arranged. That was possible of course.

Od pewnego punktu nie ma ju? ?adnego odwrotu. Ten punkt nale?y osi?gn??.

O adev?rat? libertate în alegerea profesiei nu exista pentru mine,ÅŸtiam:pe lâng? problema esenÅ£ial?,totul avea s?-mi fie la fel de indiferent aÅŸa cum îmi fuseser? toate materiile predate la ÅŸcoal?.Era vorba aÅŸadar s?-mi g?sesc o profesie care,f?r? s?-mi r?neasc? prea mult vanitatea,s? se potriveasc? cel mai bine cu indiferenÅ£a mea.

The seductiveness of this world and the sign that warrants its transitoriness are one and the same. And rightly so, because only in this way can the world seduce us, and accord with the truth. The grievous thing is that after falling victim to the seduction, we forget the warranty, and so the Good has led us into Evil, the woman's smile has led us into bed with her.

They embraced one another, her little body burned in K.'s hands, they rolled, in a semi-conscious state from which K. tried constantly but unsuccessfully to surface, a little way on, bumped into Klamm's door with a hollow thud, then lay there in the puddles of beer and the rubbish

If you were crossing a plain, with the good will to get across, but all the same your steps took you backwards, it would be a matter for despair; but as you are clambering up a steep slope, as steep, say, as you yourself are viewed from below, it could also be that your steps backward are only caused by the nature of the ground, and you do not have to despair.

Her ?eyi yanl?? de?erlendiriyorsunuz, sessizli?i de.

It seems like I'm overly concerned to place the information officer in a good light, the young woman said softly in K.'s ear, as they approached the hallway, but believe me, what I say is true. He's not hard-hearted. It's not his duty to accompany sick parties out and yet he does, as you can see. Perhaps none of us is hard-hearted, perhaps we'd all like to help, but as court officials it can easily appear that we're heard-hearted and don't want to help anyone. That really bothers me.

This mustache was obviously perfumed, one was almost tempted to draw near and sniff it.

En gift vän är ingen riktig vän

For healthy people, life is only an unconscious and unavowed flight from the consciousness that one day one must die. Illness is always a warning and a trial of strength. And so illness, pain, [and] suffering are the most important sources of religious feeling.

Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt.

Konu yaln?zca unutmak deÄŸil, çok daha ötesi. Çünkü insan unuttuÄŸuyla yeniden tan??abilir.

The books must be law books and it's characteristic of this judicial system that a man is condemned not only when he's innocent but also in ignorance.

That is how things stand today, little likely to cause me any uneasiness.

If you're under suspicion it's better to be moving than still, as if you're still you can be in the pan of the scales without knowing it and be weighed along with your sins.

he surrendered to a pleasant feeling of weariness

die anderen ist. Und daß es so

If it had been possible to build the Tower of Babel without climbing it, it would have been permitted.

perhaps he made too much of the assistants' bad habits; they were young fellows, cheerful and a little simple, taken into a stranger's service for the first time, away from the stern discipline of the castle and so a little surprised and excited all the time, and in that frame of mind, yes, they did sometimes do silly things. Of course it was natural to get annoyed about that, but it would be more sensible to laugh.

Por lo tanto, tal vez sea mejor soportarlo todo con pasividad, comportarse como una simple masa, y si uno se siente arrastrado, no dejarse inducir al menor paso innecesario, contemplar a los demás con la mirada de un animal, no sentir ningún remordimiento en fin, ahogar con una sola mano el fantasma de vida que aún subsista, es decir, aumentar en lo posible la postrera calma sepulcral, y no dejar subsistir nada más.